Policemen Don't Have Balls
by SnydersOfHanover
Summary: 3rd in the series "Better Than Pugs." The gang attends a Holiday gala (not a ball!) benefiting the SBPD and the entire department is held hostage. Can Shawn and Gus figure out who is responsible and free themselves and their colleagues in time for the arrival of baby Spencer? Plot rights reserved. I don't own characters.
1. Chapter 1

"What do you think, Gus? On the tree, this year?" said Shawn digging through a cardboard box and pulling out a set of Christmas ornaments featuring cut-out heads of Larry Appleton and Balki Bartokomous on Frosty the Snowman bodies.

It was December 15, and Gus, Shawn and their girlfriends were decorating the Psych Office for the holiday season. A fake tree had been erected in the office window and various lights and ornaments had been put on the tree and other places around the office. _Jingle Bell Rock _played in the background.

"Dude, I told you what I thought of those ornaments in 1992 and my opinion still hasn't changed in 2013," said Gus.

"What? You mean, that you love them and appreciate all of the hard work that your best friend put into making them for you?"

"Shawn, all you did was tape magazine cut-outs onto snowman ornaments. It took you less than five minutes, and you know you only made them because I get freaked out by Mark Linn-Baker."

Shawn clicked his tongue. "Ok, how about we just put up Bronson Pinchot, then?"

"No, Shawn. Both of them go back in the box, and are never to come out again. Ever."

Shawn frowned, but still hesitated putting the ornaments back in the box. "I'm with Gus on this one," said Juliet from her seat on the couch. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table and she was eating something from a container that was perched on her very pregnant belly. Rachael sat on the other end of the couch, reading a bridal magazine – Juliet had asked her to be a bridesmaid at her and Shawn's wedding and Rachael was helping with some last minute planning. The wedding was only a week away, but with the busyness of a cop's and a psychic detective's schedules, they were a little behind on their plans. Ok, more than a little. They pretty much hadn't planned anything aside from convincing Buzz McNab to get a quickie minister's license online.

"Aww, you too, Jules?" said Shawn, disappointedly. "No love for the _Perfect Strangers_? Rachael, you're with me on this, aren't you?"

"Sorry, Shawn. I'd listen to the pregnant lady if I were you," said Rachael.

"Oh, man…you guys are no fun," said Shawn, sadly depositing the ornaments back into the box. He'd have to try again next year.

"Juliet, what are you eating over there?" said Gus, wrinkling his nose. "You know my sensitive smell-receptors can't take that kind of stench."

"Stench? Gus, this smells amazing!" said Juliet taking a whiff. Rachael, Gus, and Shawn shared a look as if they thought Juliet belonged in a mental institution. Juliet was oblivious to their exchange. "Anyway, it's tapioca with pineapple and green olives." She looked at it as if she was going to start salivating like a dog at any moment.

Gus gagged.

"That's nothing," said Shawn, "Last night she had a honey mustard, pickle and strawberry sundae."

"That was_ you_, Shawn," said Juliet.

"Yes. Yes, it was. But you had a few bites too, I believe."

"I did…and I will admit, it was _a_-mazing!" she said as if she were describing a pair of designer stilettos rather than food.

"You know," Rachael said, "I just couldn't get enough of tabasco sauce-covered bananas while I was pregnant with Maximus."

"Ha! Pregnancy cravings are super weird!" laughed Juliet. "Still not as weird as the feeling of being kicked in the pancreas, though," she said while massaging her stomach and groaning.

"Shawn…" said Gus, looking nervously out the window. "When did you say your mom was supposed to get in?"

"I'm picking her up at the airport at 5. Why?"

"I think you should know that she's here now."

Shawn dropped the Snoopy ornament that he held in his hands, and it landed on the floor and shattered. "What?! She's here? Now?"

"She just pulled up in a rental car," said Gus.

"Quick, Jules! You need to hide!" said Shawn, removing the tapioca from Juliet's stomach and then pulling her off the couch by both arms.

"Shawn! Why do I need to hide?" shouted Juliet. Shawn shushed her and shuffled her into the bathroom and closed the door. Juliet tried to push the door back open but Shawn leaned on it so that she couldn't. "Shawn! What are doing?! Let me out of here! I swear to God, Shawn…I will shoot you!" she said pounding on the door.

Rachael stood and looked at Gus as if she expected him to do something, but he only shrugged.

"No can do, sweetheart," said Shawn. Madeline Spencer was approaching the front door of the Psych Office when Shawn opened the bathroom door just enough to peek his head in and whisper to Juliet. "Look, Jules. I am really really really sorry for this, but I am going to need you to sit tight and keep quiet for just five minutes. I promise I will explain later, _and _I'll get you a giant tub of fudge swirl ice cream."

Juliet crossed her arms and shot daggers at him with her eyes. "…_with _walnuts and gummy bears," she added through gritted teeth.

"All of the wally bears and gummy nuts that you want, I promise….Hiiiii Mom!" he said closing the door, turning around and raising both the volume and octave of his voice. "Ha..Ha..Hooow ya doin? You're here early!"

"Goose!" said Madeline. "There's my little groom-to-be!" She pulled Shawn into a tight hug. "I managed to catch an earlier flight and thought I'd surprise you at work… which it doesn't look like you're doing at the moment." Her eyes roved over all of the Christmas items scattered around the room and momentarily met the tapioca dish on the coffee table which caused her to wrinkle her nose.

"We're decorating, Mom. We need to make the office festive for the clients."

"Hi Gus!" said Madeline.

"Hi Mrs. Spencer, have you met my girlfriend Rachael?" said Gus.

"I don't believe I have," said Madeline, shaking Rachael's hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Spencer."

"Oh, please, call me Maddie, and the pleasure is mine."

Madeline sidestepped the broken ornament as she came further into the office and looked around. "I thought you might want to go to lu…is that the Snoopy ornament I gave you for Christmas when you were eight?"

"Yeah, sorry Mom," said Shawn. "It was an accident. On the bright side, he is now reunited with Woodstock in broken-Christmas-ornament heaven." Madeline frowned for a moment, but soon recovered.

"Anyway, Goose, I was wondering if you wanted to go to lunch, just me and you."

"Uh,..Yes! Yes, of course, I would love to Mom. We can go really soon. I've just got a couple things to finish up here. It will just be a minute. Why don't you go get the car started?"

"Ok, Goose, do you mind if I use your restroom first?" she said heading for the bathroom.

"Uuuhhh!...Mom, no you don't want to do that!"

"Well, why on earth not?"

"Uh…You see, Gus had leftover Quattro Quesos Dos Fritos for breakfast this morning, even though I told him not to do it. I said, 'Gus, you know what happens to your stomach when you eat congealed cheese before 9:42AM,' but of course he wouldn't listen…sooo, long story short, the bathroom is not a pretty sight right now."

Gus groaned and clicked his tongue.

"Ok, Goose," said Madeline. "I'll meet you outside."

Madeline left the office and Shawn released Juliet from the bathroom. Her face was as red as a tomato as she stared at Shawn, fuming. "WHAT was that about, Spencer?!"

"Jules, my Mom wasn't supposed to see you until tonight. It will ruin the surprise!"

"The surprise, Shawn? Are you telling me that you haven't informed her that you're going to be a father yet?!"

"Well…it depends on what you mean by 'informed'"

"I_ mean_, giving your mother the information that your fiancé is pregnant with her granddaughter."

"OOhhh OK. Well if that's what you mean, then…no."

Juliet was livid. "Shawn, I'm almost eight months pregnant. Are you telling me that nowhere in those eight months did it occur to you to call your mother and tell her about it?"

"Juliet, maybe you should calm down," said Rachael. "The stress isn't good for the baby."

"I thought about it," said Shawn. "I almost told her once, but…"

"Shawn! I can't do this with you right now! Go! Have that lunch with your mom, and after that we WILL have words!"

"Uh…ok…I'll call you later," said Shawn brushing his hand through his hair like he usually did when he was uncomfortable. He turned and left a seething Juliet behind in the Psych Office.

***Pineapple***

Later that afternoon, Juliet sat at her desk in the bustling Santa Barbara Police Department staring at her computer. She was still reeling from the incident with Shawn's mom that morning and finding it hard to concentrate on her paperwork. Desk work was starting to get old anyway. She was itching to get back into the field. She glanced at the pile of reports on the corner of her desk and put her head in her hands.

"O'Hara," said Lassiter coming up behind her, and startling her so that her head popped up and she put a hand to her stomach.

"Carlton! I told you not to scare me like that."

"Sorry O'Hara. We've got another case for you to process." McNab came up next to Lassiter and handed Juliet a case file.

"Just what I need," said Juliet. "…another one to add to the pile." Juliet took it in her hands and flipped it open. Her face turned serious. "Alice Bundy? THE Alice Bundy?"

"If you are referring to the Alice Bundy that tried to chop your head off with an axe, then yes," said Lassiter.

Juliet gave a heavy sigh and shook her head. "What happened?"

"Suicide," said Lassiter. "…caught fire to her room at Maplewood Psychiatric Hospital, with herself locked inside….It wasn't pretty."

Juliet swallowed and looked from Lassiter to McNab. "It's true," said McNab somberly. He looked at the ground. Juliet took a deep breath and looked back at the report. She wasn't sure she was ready to bring up the memories of that night right now. Her emotions were already running high from hormones and anger at Shawn.

"Oh sweet lady justice!" said Lassiter looking past Juliet towards the station entrance. Juliet turned to see Shawn coming into the station wearing an elf hat and carrying an armful of flowers and gifts.

Shawn approached Juliet and handed her a bouquet of red roses, a plush pug, and a sundae topped with walnuts and gummy bears. He kneeled and said, "What soft flight through yellow winter breaks. It is the beast, and Juliet is the sun."

"That's not even sort of close, Shawn" said Juliet.

"Jules, I apologize _profusely _for this morning. If you would just let me explain…"

"Ok, fine Shawn." Juliet desperately wanted to stay mad at Shawn, but seeing him looking so goofy in that elf hat with fake elf ears attached, she couldn't. "It's almost time to go home and get ready for dinner with your parents anyway. We'll talk there."

Shawn leaned forward to give her a peck on the lips and caught a glance at the case file that was still open in her hands. "Does that say Alice Bundy?" he asked. "THE Alice Bundy?"

"Yes, Shawn, THE Alice Bundy."

"She killed herself?"

"It looks that way," said Juliet sighing heavily. She turned to her partner. "Look, Carlton, I'm not sure I have the energy to deal with this case right now. Do you mind if I take off a little early today?"

Eight months ago Lassiter would have said no, but he had been thankfully easy on Juliet since she became pregnant. "Yeah, sure O'Hara, but I expect an earlier start tomorrow."

"Thanks, Carlton. Shawn let's go home."

!Pineapple!

Juliet was dressed in a flowy green dress, her hair pulled up into a coif of flowing curls. She stood in the mirror putting on earrings while Shawn was pulling on his black suit pants. "Shawn, are you going to tell me why you didn't tell your mom about the pregnancy?"

"Yes, Jules," he said while fumbling with his tie. Juliet came over and started tying it for him. "The thing is, Jules, when you told your family, they were so excited…I just…I guess, I just wanted that moment for myself, you know. I missed that with my Dad. I called my Mom with every intention of telling her, but I just couldn't do it over the phone. I wanted to see her face when I told her."

Juliet finished with his tie and placed her palms on his chest. Her face was almost close enough to his for their conversation to be considered 'very close talking.' She cracked a compassionate closed-mouth smile and said, "Why didn't you just say that a long time ago? We could have arranged a visit or something."

"I don't know…just with everything and being kidnapped and stuff…these last several months have just flown by," Shawn said putting his hands on Juliet's stomach.

She put her hands on his. "Tell me about it." She closed the space between their lips and gave him a soft kiss. They broke apart and continued getting ready. "So, how do you plan to tell her. You know she is going to know as soon as she sees me. Look at me. I'm huge!"

"Nooo, Jules. You're not…_huge_. You can barely tell…"

"Really?"

"Ok…so, you can sorta tell…but I wouldn't say '_huge.' _Maybe uh…just…large..?"

Juliet turned her head and looked at him angrily.

"…ger than usual? She got angrier. "Yeah. I'm just gonna stop talking now," he said.

"Good idea."

"Anyway, I've got a plan," he said. "And you look GORGEOUS."


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the wait. This story is moving along more slowly than my others. Anyway, here is Chapter 2. It's mostly fluffy stuff. The next chapter will get into the case.**

* * *

On the way to dinner, Shawn filled Juliet in on exactly how he planned to tell his mother about the baby, or at least the few pieces of the plan he had come up with. Juliet couldn't help but notice a very obvious gap, though.

"Shawn, I still don't understand how you are going to hide _this…_," she indicated with both palms on her abdomen, "…from your mother until you tell her."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Shawn confidently. Juliet rolled her eyes.

Shawn and Juliet arrived at the restaurant before Henry and Maddie, and Shawn was thanking his lucky stars because he really wasn't sure how he planned to get Juliet into the restaurant and to the table without his mother seeing her bulging stomach. After announcing their reservation to the hostess, they were led to an empty table. Luckily, Juliet hadn't gained any weight anywhere besides her stomach and when she was sitting in her seat any signs of pregnancy were unseen behind the table.

"Good," said Shawn. "Now, just don't stand up until I tell her."

"Seriously? How long is that going to be? What if I have to go to the bathroom?"

"Jules, I know you are potty trained. I think you can hold it."

"Shawn! I have another human being sitting on my bladder. When I have to go, I have to go!"

"Ok. Ok. I'll do the reveal the first moment I get."

Moments later Henry and Maddie approached the table. "Goose! You are looking so handsome in that suit!" Shawn stood up to hug his mother.

"Mom! I missed you! And might I say you look stunning tonight….um…who's that bald guy with you?"

"Shawn!" said Henry impatiently. Henry was also looking handsome in a black suit and tie.

"Oh, Dad! It's you! Sorry, I didn't recognize you without your usual rainbow of colors."

"My normal day wear does not resemble a package of Skittles, Shawn."

"Dad, I said rainbow of _colors_, not a rainbow of _flavors. _Get it right."

"Juliet, it's so great to see you again!" said Maddie as she started around the table with the intention of hugging her soon-to-be daughter-in-law, but Shawn put a hand firmly on Juliet's shoulder to keep her from standing. Shawn distracted his mother by gushing over her beauty and managed to shuffle her to the opposite side of the table and pull out her chair for her. She sat, accepting that the moment for the hug she sought was past.

"Juliet!" said Maddie. "You don't know how happy I am that you and Shawn found each other. I've never seen my boy so happy before."

"Thanks Mrs. Spencer," said Juliet blushing and smiling at Shawn, while taking his hand in hers.

"Oh, Juliet, I've told you so many times before to call me Maddie. Oh! By the way, do you mind if I take a look at that ring?!"

"Of course not," said Juliet holding out her hand. Maddie took her hand and gaped at the sparkling diamond. She was obviously impressed with the quality and looked at her son in astonishment.

"Yup, that awesome dude at Jared's says it has two cabbages," said Shawn proudly. Maddie scrunched her eyebrows.

"He means carats," corrected Juliet.

"Two carats!" exclaimed Maddie. "How did you…?"

"That was the ring Shawn picked out to replace my Mom's ring," pointed out Henry.

"Oh, yeah," said Maddie. "I still can't believe that all that time we've had a priceless piece of history sitting in our own home."

The waiter came and asked to take their drink orders and Maddie insisted on treating her family to an expensive bottle of wine. "What would you all say to a glass of Chardonnay? My treat. In honor of our growing family. Juliet?"

"I….uh…," mumbled Juliet.

"It's growing alright," whispered Henry to his son, giving him a coaxing look.

Shawn kicked him under the table. "Unlike your hair!" Shawn whispered through gritted teeth. Maddie didn't notice the exchange.

"So tell me Shawnie," said Maddie. "What do you have planned for after the big day? A romantic honeymoon I hope!"

"Uh, Mom, nothing yet…"

Juliet cut in. "We are going to plan something for the spring. We've just been…busy lately…and it's not really a good time to travel…we've barely had time to plan the wedding." She elbowed Shawn and coughed. Shawn took that as his cue.

"So, Mom, we uh…we have a gift for you." He took a small rectangular package from inside his suit jacket and handed it to Maddie. It was wrapped in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer paper and embellished with a red ribbon.

"What's this?" she said "A Christmas gift? Shouldn't I wait until Christmas?"

"No, Mom. You'll really want to open it now."

"Ok. Goose." She shrugged and started to unwrap the package. "Now I feel a little bad though because I didn't bring anything for you…" She had the paper removed and immediately upon looking at the item in her hand her voice and breath caught in her throat. She held a framed sonogram with the name 'Margaret Madeline Spencer' written across the bottom and a speech bubble drawn next the image of the fetus that said 'Hello Grandma'.

"Oh my God!" she said with tears beginning to fill her eyes. When she looked up at her son, she saw that both he and Juliet were standing. One of Shawn's arms was wrapped around his fiancé and the other was resting firmly on her large stomach.

"Oh, my God!" said Maddie again. "You're having a baby! I'm going to be a grandma…and _soon_, apparently."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you," apologized Shawn, wanting to dispel any negative feelings his mother might have when seeing how far along Juliet was. "I just wanted to tell you in person."

"Oh Shawnie! It's ok!" she said standing up and hugging both Shawn and Juliet, her happy tears now spilling from her eyes. "I'm going to be a Grandma!" she exclaimed. "A little girl," she said looking back at the photo and touching the image softly with her fingers. "My granddaughter."

"I'm due January 21st," added Juliet.

"I'm sure our little Maggie can't wait to meet her Grandma," said Shawn.

Henry smiled and gave his son a look of approval. After everyone took their seats again and the meal began, their conversation never left the topic of either the baby or the wedding. Maddie was dissatisfied to hear that their wedding was barely planned with being only a week away and promised to step in and take charge of the planning. She insisted that the happy couple keep the stress to the minimum and she would make sure that their special day was exactly what they deserved.

$$$Pineapple$$$

It was simple but elegant. It was impressive what Maddie and the rest of their friends and family could put together in less than a week. Because venues were limited this time of year and pretty much impossible to procure on such short notice, Chief Vick had graciously offered up the SBPD. The usual bustling office had been completely transformed overnight. Though a section of the department was still bustling with officers hard at work, the central hall had been cleared out. Desks were pushed aside and were replaced with rows of wooden chairs that were now filled with friends and family. Flowers and garlands hung from the ceiling in a theme of Holiday red and gold.

Gus approached his best friend who stood at the end of the aisle facing towards the platform where the happy couple would be standing shortly. "Gus! What are you doing? Its bad luck for the groom to see the best man before the ceremony!"

"No Shawn, its bad luck for the groom to see the _bride _before the ceremony."

"I've heard it both ways."

"No you haven't."

A moment of quiet passed as both men took in the scenery.

"Well, here I am Gus," said Shawn anxiously. "My wedding day. Whoever thought I'd be getting married before you?"

"Technically, I was married first," said Gus.

"Maannn! Mira doesn't count and you know it."

"Yeah, you're right," Gus admitted. Another moment passed.

"Dude, this is so _Father of the Bride_!" exclaimed Shawn.

"Uh…no its not," said Gus. "Where are you getting that idea?"

"Wasn't the bride pregnant in that movie?" asked Shawn.

"No, she was pregnant in the sequel. _Father of the Bride 2_."

"There was a sequel?!"

"Yes, Shawn."

"Then that's us. We're the sequel."

"No. Nobody got married in the sequel, Shawn!"

"Then why is it called _Father of the Bride 2_, Gus?!"

"How should I know? Ask the idiot who named it!" argued Gus in exasperation. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you guys can't compare to any movie. This situation is totally unique."

"That's how we Spencers do it! Unique-style," said Shawn.

"Only _you _would end up getting married in a police department," said Gus.

"Yeah, well, it was either this or my Dad's and I'm pretty sure its bad luck to get married in a room with taxidermied fish on the walls."

"That's not true. Stop making stuff up, Shawn."

"Oh, you know… I think I'm thinking of that rhymy-thingy…old fish, new fish, borrowed fish, blue fish."

"That's 'something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue'," corrected Gus.

"Hmm..maybe not then," admitted Shawn, "…but still, who would want to say their 'I dos' with a ten-pound mackerel giving them the evil eye?"

Gus considered Shawn's argument, "Ugh…I hear that!" He shook his head, "Taxidermy. What an awful act…"

"On the bright side, the benefit to having a wedding in a police department is that the party favors are handcuffs and tazers." Gus agreed with a nod.

Just then, a violin rendition of James Taylor's _Only One_ started playing through the loudspeakers and Buzz McNab took his place on the platform, book in hand and wide cheesy grin on his face. Shawn took that as his cue to take his position on the platform.

"You ready, man?" said Gus.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said Shawn. "Oh, and Gus, I left you some Kleenex and caramels in your pocket. You're going to need them." Shawn turned and sprinted up the aisle to the platform.

Gus reached into his pocket and found the items, then smiled and nodded.

The next ten or fifteen minutes were a blur. All Shawn could remember were a procession of groomsmen and bridesmaids clad in red dresses, first was Lassiter and Marlowe, followed by a smiling Woody and a nauseated-looking Chief Vick, then Gus and Rachael. Next, there was an explosion of rose petals filling the aisle as Iris and Maximus fought over the gold basket that was holding them – Maximus continued up the aisle with the basket upside down on his head – and then she entered. His beautiful Juliet processed up the aisle in her white gown and was given away by her step-father Lloyd. Shawn could see nothing but her gorgeous blue eyes, glassy with tears, as she stepped onto the platform and faced him. In the next several minutes there were vows and rings exchanged, but all of it was a whirlwind of fleeting moments that seemed to surround himself and the woman he couldn't take his eyes off of. Finally, Buzz's voice gave Shawn permission to kiss his bride and his lips immediately crashed onto hers. Cheers erupted around them which echoed in the hall and made it feel like fireworks were going off in the room. After an eternity, their lips parted and Shawn said to his wife, "It's official, Mrs. Juliet Spencer."

%%%Pineapple%%%

Soon the station was transformed again into a ballroom, complete with sparkling lights, candle-adorned dining tables and a small dance floor. The lights were turned low and Kool and the Gang's _Celebrate_ played through the speakers.

"I've got to hand it to your Mom, Shawn. She did a great job. Today was perfect," said Juliet snuggling into her husband at the end of the evening. "Well, almost perfect."

"Look, Jules, my Mom tried really hard, but it was just impossible to find a Scottish bagpiper that can cover _Huey Lewis and the News_."

"That's not what I mean…" she laughed.

"I'm sorry your Dad didn't come, Jules."

"Well…I'm not…I guess. I mean, a man doesn't return any of his daughter's phone calls for over a year, he doesn't deserve to give her away. Lloyd raised me. _He's _my Dad. He deserved the honor."

"Well said, Jules…who needs Frank?"

"It's not just that, though. Ewan…I always thought my favorite big brother would be there for my wedding day…"

"I'm really sorry…" said Shawn compassionately playing with Juliet's hair.

"Thanks, sweetheart…but seriously, tonight has been the happiest night of my life and not even my con-man father or felon brother can ruin it." She kissed Shawn softly on the lips. "I love you, Mr. Spencer."

Shawn kissed her back. "And I love you, Mrs. Spencer." He kissed her one more time, then kissed his hand and placed it on her stomach. "And I love you baby Maggie." Juliet smiled broadly and leaned back into her husband, burrowing her head under Shawn's chin.

"Look, I'm going to go refill my glass," said Shawn. "Can I get some more sparkling grape juice for you and Maggie."

"Yes, please...I'm sure I'm the only one drinking grape juice tonight she said while looking to see the party going on the dance floor. Woody was in the middle of a Russian dance and had Juliet's bouquet – which he caught earlier – tied to his head.

"Oh…I don't know about that," said Shawn.

Juliet's head whipped around and her eyebrows scrunched up. "What are you talking about, Shawn?"

"I think you might want to ask a certain seductive blonde ex-con who for some unknown reason has the hots for your partner."

"Marlowe? What do you know, Shawn?" she inquired suspiciously.

"Nothing. Only just that she's been drinking grape juice all night," he said nodding toward the glass in her hand filled with the yellow colored liquid.

"It's probably just because she and Carlton have been trying. She doesn't want to take any chances…" reasoned Juliet.

"Yeah…probably…," said Shawn, his tone conveying that he wasn't convinced. He left Juliet looking dumbfounded with a soft peck on her cheek before heading to the bar. On his way there, he stopped to check in on his Dad. "Hey Papa Monkey!"

"Son!" Henry surprised Shawn by pulling into a tight hug. He was clearly more than a little tipsy.

"Geez Dad, you've got the grip of a WWE wrestler, loosen it up a bit…_wheeze_…seriously Dad my airways are closing up."

Henry ended the hug and patted Shawn so hard on the back that he almost landed face forward into a half-eaten piece of cake. "You did good, son. I'm proud of you. You found yourself a really great one!"

"Are you talking about my wife or a lusciously ripe pineapple?"

"Ha!," laughed Henry. "You said wife. I can't believe my son has a wife." Now he appeared to be talking to an invisible someone hanging above his head. "I have a daughter-in-law. And pretty soon, I'll have a granddaughter." He started to get teary -eyed.

"I'm glad you approve Dad. Now, I'm going to let you get back to your…" He looked closely at the drink in Henry's hand. "…Sex on the Beach, before you say something truly awkward." Before Shawn walked away, he patted his Dad on the back and said "I love you, Dad." Henry seemed not to notice as he was already beginning to do the electric slide.

"Lassie? McNab? What's the deal bros?" said Shawn curiously when he saw the two officers fly by him, loading and stowing their weapons into their holsters.

"Not now, Spencer!" stated Lassiter. "And I am not your 'bro'!

"Another suicide," answered McNab. "A Robert Bundy. I'll be your bro if you want Shawn." They stormed out of the station.

"Thanks, bro…Robert _Bundy_? " said Shawn to himself, standing still as a statue. His vexed eyes met Juliet's from across the station.


	3. Chapter 3

**Now for the nuts and bolts of the story...**

* * *

A pale body laid on the cold metal slab in Dr. Strode's laboratory. Woody Strode stood at the body's head putting on rubber gloves over his chocolate covered hands. Several packages of candies wrapped in red toile and gold ribbons lay amongst a collection of odds, ends, and knick knacks on the table behind him. The rest of the dead body was surrounded by Lassiter, McNab, Gus, Shawn, and Juliet.

Juliet sighed and leaned against her husband. "Most normal couples spend the morning after their wedding on a beach in Mexico or Antigua, or at the very least on a flight en route to one of those locations. But not us. Nope. We spend the morning after our wedding in a morgue…" She looked at the body, grimacing as her eyes landed on a large bloody hole on the man's head.

"Hey, you're a Spencer now," said Shawn. "You can't expect to be normal anymore. Spencers are about as normal as Kathy Griffin wearing assless chaps while riding a cow down Rodeo Drive and eating a churro.

"That actually sounds surprisingly normal for Kathy Griffin," Gus pointed out.

"You're right, Gus. Make that Osama Bin Laden wearing gangsta clothes," corrected Shawn.

Juliet rolled her eyes and turned to Woody impatiently. "So what have we got here, Strode?"

"First, let me apologize," started Woody. "I am a bit hungover. You should have seen the wild party that was going on upstairs last night!"

"Yeah…we were there, Woodster," said Shawn.

"Really? I didn't see you," said Woody. "Did you at least pick up some of these kick-ass party favors!" He stepped aside so that everyone could see the items on the table behind him.

"Woody, those aren't party favors," said Gus. "That's McIntyre's stapler, Johnson's bobblehead, and Dobson's photo of his twin boys."

"Oh, really?" argued Woody. "Then why were they on the party favor tables, Bud?"

"My _name _is _not _BUD!"

"Seriously? I could have sworn your name was Bud," said Woody tilting his head and scrunching his eyebrows

"And those were not party favor tables. They were officers' desks!" exclaimed Gus.

"Oh, and you know everything, Mr. Know-it-all McSmartypants."

"Woody, come ooonn. You can't give Gus silly nicknames" said Shawn. "That's my job. Never do that. Ok?"

"Ok, enough!" shouted Lassiter. "Can't you all see we have a case to focus on?!"

"Ok. Ok. Ok!" Woody freaked out. "Don't shit a brick!" He opened the file that he held in his hands. "What we've got here is a Mr. Robert Bundy. 54 years old. Found dead in his home at 11:47 last night after a neighbor reported hearing a gun shot. My interpretation is that C.O.D. is either a bullet to the head or a Snapple overdose."

"Of course it's a bullet to the head, Strode," said Lassiter angrily. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that!"

"Actually detective, you'd be surprised to know how clueless rocket scientists truly are. They know everything there is to know about rockets, but couldn't recognize the back end of a mule if it was right in their face."

Juliet wrinkled her nose and Lassiter groaned.

"In any case, Mr. Bundy here shows no signs of a struggle…only a single bullet hole that entered at his right temple and exits on the left. Otherwise, no cuts, bruises, lacerations, scrapes, pokes, boo-boos, or owies of any kind. That combined with the report from ballistics that he had GSR on his hand confirms that he took his own life." Woody nodded and closed the file.

"Thank's Woody," said Juliet. "This case seems open and shut to me, but I'll take a careful look at the case file just in case. Let's go guys." Everyone except Woody filed out of the morgue.

"You're welcome fellow crime solvers!" said Woody as everyone left. "I'll be here if you need anything else….except a scalp massage. I don't do scalp massages!"

(((Pineapple)))

"Okay Jules," said Shawn as he and Gus followed Juliet back to her desk. "Please tell me this Robert Bundy is not related to Alice." He sat on the corner of Juliet's desk and Gus pulled up a chair next to her desk.

Juliet carefully lowered herself into her seat and let out an exhausted huff. "I can't say that Shawn," she said. "Robert_ is_ related to Alice. He is her father." She took Robert's case file from the opposite corner of her desk and began to leaf through it.

"So both father and daughter commit suicide within a week of each other? That can't be a coinkidink," said Shawn.

"Mr. Bundy was probably heartbroken over the death of his daughter and just couldn't go on anymore," reasoned Gus. Besides, a lot of people commit suicide around the holidays."

"Hmmm…I doubt it," said Juliet. "Robert hasn't been in Alice's life since she was seven years old and he didn't even go to her memorial service. I doubt he was heartbroken. Maybe guilty though…" Juliet groaned and rubbed her stomach.

"You ok, Jules?" said Shawn, concerned.

"Yeah, fine. She's just kicking a lot and I'm tired."

Shawn comfortingly stroked her hair. He was feeling bad about her discomfort that seemed to be increasing daily. Just then, Chief Vick came by with a stack of silver envelopes and handed one to each of them and to Lassiter and McNab who were approaching Juliet's desk.

"Why thank you Chief!" said Shawn. "Getting our Christmas bonuses early this year? Hmm?"

"You don't get a Christmas bonus Mr. Spencer. It's an invitation."

"Ooo! Please tell me it's a Pampered Chef party!" said Shawn bouncing around excitedly.

"Oh, yeah," said Gus. "I've been waiting for one of these. I've been wanting to get a gravy separator and a bean slicer for months now."

"Gus, those aren't real things. Don't make stuff up," groaned Shawn.

"Yes they are, Shawn! They are just difficult to find in stores."

"Who slices beans…?" asked Shawn shaking his head and looking at Gus like he was embarrassed to be called his best friend.

"Don't look at me like that, Shawn. You're the one who wants it to be a Pampered Chef party."

"Yes Gus, for the free _food _that they make while they are showing you how to use their products."

"Ooohh! Yeah of course the _food_. That's a given." Gus nodded in agreement.

"It's not a Pampered Chef party," said the Chief. "It's an invitation to the first annual New Year's Eve Gala to benefit the SBPD. Our most important and prestigious contributors are going to be there so we need a nice turnout from all of you to show them how much we appreciate their donations. I expect everyone to be there."

"Oh come on, Chief," said Lassiter. "You know these types of events really aren't my thing, and Marlowe and I planned to spend our first New Years together with a nice quiet evening at home."

"Lassiter, you're our head detective. You have to be there. Detective O'Hara…I mean, _Spencer_…" she corrected. Shawn and Juliet smiled proudly and Lassiter rolled his eyes. "…is the only one with permission to sit out for obvious reasons, although we'd all love to see you there if you are up to it," she said directly to Juliet.

"I'll make an appearance, Chief," she responded happily.

"So Chief?..." Are you saying that we are going to a Policemen's _Ball_?" said Shawn, elbowing Gus and glancing at Lassiter.

"Policemen don't have…Dammit Spencer! I'm not falling for that again!" growled Lassiter.

Everyone giggled and Lassiter stomped back to his desk. After the Chief left, Juliet started spreading out Bundy's case file on her desk.

"Jules, what were you saying about Bundy feeling guilty?" asked Shawn. "What would he be guilty about?"

"Don't you remember from the report for the Scary Sherry case, Shawn?"

"Jules, are you asking me to remember something I read over six years ago?"

"Yes, Shawn. Isn't that what you do? Remember stuff. We both know you are not pulling information out of thin air." Her eyes pierced his and he shrugged guiltily.

"He can't remember something he never read," said Gus, flashing another guilt-inducing stare at Shawn. "I read the file though. And now that you mention it, it does make sense. Mr. Bundy was charged with sexually abusing Alice and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Alice's mother had already died at that point so that's why the Harthans took Alice in. Bundy apparently must have gotten out early."

"Yeah, just last month actually," said Juliet. "He got an early parole for good behavior."

"Damn, no wonder Alice was so f'ed up…" said Shawn.

"So he finally gets out of prison after 20 years and then he kills himself?" said Gus. "That doesn't make any sense…"

It certainly seems strange…but maybe he was just a troubled man." Juliet shrugged. "Life outside turned out to be more difficult than he realized…"

Shawn grabbed the case file and shuffled through the crime scene photos. He took in the appearance of the house. It was old and dingy, with very little furniture, but otherwise clean and put together. He noticed a case of peach Snapple on the kitchen counter. "Wow, Woody may not have been so far off on the Snapple angle," he said. In the next photo he saw that Bundy was positioned on the hardwood living room floor, an abundant splatter of blood on the wall right about where he would have been standing before falling backwards. His gun lay inches from his left hand."

"Waiiit a minute. Wait just one damn minute?" said Shawn, clearly onto something. "Jules, was Bundy right or left handed?"

Juliet flipped to the front of the file to his personal details. "Left."

"And the GSR was found on his…"

"Left hand. What are you getting at, Shawn?"

"From the position of the blood splatter, he was clearly shot on the right side of his head. Isn't that what Woody said anyway? The bullet entered on the right? How did he shoot himself through the right side of his head when the gun was in his left hand?" Both Gus and Juliet looked at him seriously, knowing exactly what that meant. "This isn't a suicide," Shawn said. "This is murder. Gus, we are gonna have to get a closer look at that crime scene."

* * *

**The mystery begins! Please review. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I must say I am very pleased with myself for this chapter. I am hoping you agree.**

* * *

"Jules, what other case files do you have to process today?" asked Shawn curiously.

"Let's see…" said Juliet, flipping through the files. "I have a robbery at a convenience store in Goleta, a missing person's case, and a car theft."

As she flipped through them, Shawn saw the faces of the suspects and victims on the front page of each one. There was a thuggish looking African American man on the robbery file, a pretty brown-haired woman in her 20's on the missing persons case, and a balding middle-aged man on the car theft. He eyed the files carefully, trying to judge from their thickness how long it would take Juliet to finish. He guessed it would take at least a few hours, which gave him a few hours to finish up her Christmas present before he and Gus went to Bundy's house to investigate.

"Sooo…when do you think you'll be finished? Like 5:30? 6? 6:27?" he asked.

"Most likely around 6," she answered. "Does it matter?"

"No. No. No. It doesn't matter…just curious," said Shawn coyly.

Juliet knew that Shawn was never "just curious." He obviously had something he wasn't telling her. She guessed from his goofy demeanor though that it was probably a surprise he was planning, rather than a lie. It was only two days before Christmas, after all. She couldn't blame him. She had her own surprise planned.

"Ok," she said playfully. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Toniiiight!" sang Shawn, followed by both of them singing "TonIIIiiiight!" in unison. Juliet couldn't believe he got her doing that bit now too.

"See ya later, Doodlepumpkin," said Shawn kissing her goodbye. He said goodbye to his unborn daughter with a pat on Juliet's stomach, something he started doing ever since she started showing. "Goodbye doodle…Jules' what are those tiny pumpkins called?"

"Uh…gourds…I think?"

"Goodbye doodlegourd," Shawn said to the baby. Juliet scrunched her nose and scowled.

"Yeah…that doesn't sound as sweet as I hoped," said Shawn. "I am going to have to think of a new nickname for her."

"Why don't you think of a new one for me too, while you're at it," suggested Juliet.

"I'll see what I can do," responded Shawn. With one last kiss and an "I love you" Shawn left Juliet to do her paperwork while he went home to meet up with Gus and Henry who were helping with the surprise. Shawn made sure they were wrapped up by 6 and then he and Gus started the investigation.

^^^Pineapple^^^

Robert Bundy's house was a modest rental unit in a low income neighborhood. It wasn't dirty or ghetto-like, per se, just dated. It apparently hadn't been updated since the early 70s. The lawn was somewhat overgrown and the shrubs unpruned. When they pulled up in the Blueberry, they saw a 30-something red-haired woman who looked remarkably like Molly Ringwald watering her flower bed next door. They decided to start with her.

"Hey!" shouted Shawn to the woman as he and Gus traipsed across the lawn to her. "Do you think I could borrow your underpants? …Just for like 10 minutes."

"Excuse me!" she said offended and suspicious.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that inappropriate?" said Shawn. "I apologize. You see, sometimes I don't realize that the things that come out of my mouth are offensive. My partner here is supposed to stop me from saying things like that. Where were you this time?!" he scolded Gus.

"I'm not his mouth filter," Gus corrected.

"Eww..My what?" said Shawn.

"What do you want?" interrupted the woman.

"I apologize again," said Shawn glaring at Gus. "My name is Shawn Spencer, and this is my partner Tom Williamson…fielding…ton…ovich…islav. He added each new syllable every time the woman thought he was finished and started to speak. She was left speechless. I am a psychic detective who works for the Santa Barbara Police Department and we are investigating the death of your neighbor Mr. Bundy. We were wondering if there is anything you can tell us about last night….Molly, is it?"

"Oh yeah…so sad," she said somberly and finally relaxing at the fact the that he had said 'psychic ' rather than 'psycho,' …and it's Bethany."

"Did you know Mr. Bundy?" asked Gus.

"Only slightly," she answered. "He moved in next door about a month ago. We chatted a bit coming and going but I didn't know him well. He was nice enough, I guess, but seemed a little…"

"Lachrymose?" Shawn suggested.

"No…" she said confused.

"Serpentine?" he suggested again.

"Uh…?"

"Cerulean?"

"No…I don't…"

"Shawn!" interrupted Gus impatiently. "Don't use words you don't know the meaning of."

"Gus, I'm just making suggestions to help Bethany along."

"You just asked Bethany if Bundy was tearful, snake-like, or sky blue."

"See!" said Shawn as if that statement proved his argument.

"…I was going to say _paranoid,_" said Bethany.

"Paranoid?" they both asked.

"How so?" said Gus.

"Well, he was asking me about hearing noises and stuff in the night. He talked about….ghosts…said he thought he was being haunted. He seemed really worked up about it. I only wish I had done something…or said something earlier. When I heard that shot last night, I thought he must have finally went off the deep end. So I called the police."

"Did he say anything about this….ghost, in particular," asked Shawn.

"No…," she started while thinking and continuing to water her flowers. "Wait! He said something about a woman…in a mirror…but I don't see….I mean, it's just his imagination, right?"

"That's what we're here to find out," said Shawn. "Thanks Molly, we appreciate your help. You can get back to your gardening now."

"It's Bethany," she said as Shawn and Gus walked towards Bundy's front door.

The appearance of the inside of the house was not unexpected based on the outside. It was a small single-floor home with a bed and bath to the left of the living room and the kitchen straight ahead. They could see that the bedroom had puke green shag carpet, and the living room had a brick fireplace and wood paneling on the walls. A mirror was built into the top half of one the walls and a bookshelf built into another. The kitchen cabinets were painted a brownish orange. Just as had been apparent from the crime scene photos, there was very little furniture. A single couch sat in the living room facing an old television set on a crate. The kitchen was completely devoid of table and chairs and had only a toaster and the case of Snapple sitting on the countertop.

The blood splatter was on the wall just perpendicular to the mirror. The reflection of the blood in the mirror combined with a number of actual blood splotches on the mirror made the scene seem thrice as gruesome as it actually was. Gus immediately started to heave and decided to start his part of the investigation in the bathroom. Shawn remembered from the photo how Bundy was found and figured he must have been facing the mirror at the moment he was shot. He looked to the wall that would have been to Bundy's right. There was a window on that wall but it was too far to the left for the shooter to have fired from outside the window. He figured the killer must have been standing in front of the bookshelf that was just to the right of the window.

Suddenly, Shawn heard a 'little girl' scream from Bundy's bathroom, and ran to see if Gus was ok. "Gus! What happened?" he yelled.

"Uh…I'm not sure," said Gus, who was stumbling backwards out of the bathroom. "The shutters on the outside of the window….they were rattling."

"It was probably just a chipmunk," said Shawn.

"No!" said Gus. "There was nothing there. I saw them rattling all on their own."

Shawn walked to the bathroom window and opened it, inspecting the shutters. "Gus, don't be Jessie Spano hopped up on caffeine pills! There is no such thing as ghosts. You are letting Bethany's story get into your head. Aaaahh!" he screamed as the shutters which were only inches from his face began to rattle. "Ok. That was weird," he agreed.

"See, I told you!" exclaimed Gus.

Immediately a pounding noise started from the next room and both men, who were acting like scared little boys, ran to see what it was. The pounding seemed to have been coming from inside the wall at the head of Bundy's bed, but they could not explain what might have been causing such a loud noise. Another noise coming from the kitchen caught their attention. This one was more of a scraping sound. Shawn ran into the kitchen throwing open all of the cabinets to find the source of the sound. Gus stopped on the way to the kitchen as something in the mirror caught his eye. He carefully stepped closer to it and the image became clearer. Shawn exited the kitchen out of breath to see Gus staring intently into the mirror. Just as Shawn was noticing that Gus was likely to be standing in the exact position Bundy was just before being shot, he saw a red light beginning to blink from a box on the bookshelf exactly to the right of Gus's head.

"Gus!" screamed Shawn as he tackled his friend to the ground. Shawn's reaction was just in time. Only a split second later, a bullet flew from a hole in the box, over their heads, and embedded itself in the exact same spot on the wall where the Bundy-killing bullet had landed the night before.

"What was that?!" shouted Gus getting himself off the floor and moving as far away from the mirror as possible.

"I think that was Bundy's killer," said Shawn.

"What are you talking about?"

"Stand back and watch," said Shawn as he grabbed a broom from the kitchen and held it in front of the fresh bullet hole in the wall. After about thirty seconds, he saw a red light flashing from the box on the bookshelf and then another bullet flew out of the box and zipped through the head of the broom, knocking it from Shawn's hand.

"Holy...crap!" said Gus.

Shawn picked up the broom and tried his experiment again. This time the light blinked, but instead of a bullet flying he heard the click-click sound of a gun with an empty barrel. He tried one last time for good measure and when he heard the clicking again he approached the box on the bookshelf. It was a wooden box that was permanently nailed to the shelf, but the top of it opened. Shawn had to stand on his tiptoes to see the inside which held a gun much like Bundy's own attached to some sort of motion sensing device.

"Wha…what is it?" asked Gus timidly. He was still shaken up and continued to stand as far away from the mirror and the box as he could.

"Our killer is a smart little bastard," said Shawn. Whoever-it-was wanted to make sure that he was nowhere near this place when Bundy was killed, so instead he set up a trap. Gus, what did you see in the mirror?"

"Uh…It…it was a woman. The face of a woman. A sad face."

"It was probably just an occipital illusion," said Shawn taking a closer look at the mirror and then moving back and forth and side to side, noticing that he could see a woman's face only when he was standing in just the right spot. Something about the woman seemed familiar.

"You mean an _optical _illusion," said Gus.

"Yeah, one of those," said Shawn. "Damn, Gus. We are dealing with one genius son-of-a-bitch!"

&&&Pineapple&&&

Shawn was still recovering from the scare at Bundy's house. All through dinner, Juliet noticed him acting strange. He wasn't his usual jovial self. She knew something happened, but he wasn't saying anything.

Shawn didn't want to tell Juliet how close Gus came to death today. He knew she would only think of how easily it could have been himself, and he didn't want her to worry. She was already tired and uncomfortable, and surely worried about what was to come over the next few months. He didn't need her worrying about the mortality of her husband at the same time. He had at least done the right thing and called Lassiter to share their findings from the investigation.

"Do you want to watch a movie? Something to get us into the holiday spirit maybe?" suggested Juliet.

"Uh…yeah sure…take your pick," Shawn answered.

Juliet frowned. Shawn usually insisted on picking the movie. She pulled '_It's a Wonderful Life' _from the media shelf and handed it to Shawn who put it in the DVD player while Juliet started curling up on the couch. Shawn sat next to her and propped her legs up over his. The movie started, but Shawn didn't seem to be paying attention.

"Shawn?" she said. He looked at her. "What happened today?"

"What…nothing!" he said, surprised that his behavior was so obvious.

"Did you get hurt? Did Gus get hurt?" she asked, fishing for an explanation for his strange behavior.

"No. Thankfully, no one got hurt," he said. He looked away. "But Gus came really close…" His eyes turned up to Juliet's concerned blue ones again. "Let's just say that Bundy was definitely murdered and his killer is not going to be easy to catch."

"Who…?" started Juliet in her serious-police-talk tone.

Shawn interrupted. "Jules, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. We have the next few days off, so let's just use it to enjoy the holidays…our last quiet one in a-looong -while. No more case talk, ok? Not until after Christmas."

"Ok," she answered simply.

Shawn pulled his feet up onto the couch and laid next to Juliet, his arm wrapped around her. He rested his other hand on her stomach and felt a tiny kick from inside in response. His little girl was in there, and before he knew it, she would be out. He thought of how their next Christmas would be with a near toddler. Most of the gifts under the tree would be filled with toys instead of sweaters and Axe body spray. The thought made him so happy that his worries seemed to melt away. He nuzzled his face into Juliet's hair and watched as Jimmy Stewart threw a lasso at the moon.

* * *

**Next up, some Christmas fluff and more crime. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Be warned. This chapter is 100% fluff. The crime will return in chapter 6.**

* * *

For the next few days, it wasn't hard for Shawn and Juliet to get their mind off the case. With all of Juliet's family in town, they had enough to keep them busy. Most of her family still lived in Miami where she grew up, but ever since she moved to Santa Barbara seven years ago, Maryann and Lloyd had gotten a vacation house about an hour from Santa Barbara so it would be easier for them to visit. For the last few years, the family Christmas festivities alternated between Miami and Santa Barbara. This year technically had been a Miami year, but in light of Juliet's condition and the fact that she and Shawn decided to have their wedding a few days before Christmas, the family had decided to do their Christmas in Santa Barbara this year. Maryann and Lloyd were hosting Christmas Eve dinner at their beach-side vacation home, and Juliet was excited for all of the traditional Scottish festivities. Even Shawn was ready to try his luck in the caber toss this year. Juliet had to laugh to herself when she thought of how he would react when he found out what the caber toss was and that he would be expected to wear a kilt while he participated.

Shawn realized that this would be his first Christmas without Gus in almost 30 years. While he was spending the holidays with Juliet's family and his own parents who had been invited to the O'Hara Christmas, Gus would be spending Christmas day with his own family and then taking off the next day for London with Rachael and Maximus. Gus was extremely (and hilariously, thought Shawn) nervous about meeting Rachael's parents. Shawn was satisfied that at least Gus would be back for New Years.

Shawn drove his family to the O'Hara family Christmas in his new red Honda. He definitely missed his motorcycle but he had to admit that he loved having Juliet sitting next to him while he drove. He loved intertwining her fingers with his or stroking her golden curls behind her ear while he was driving. He would have been doing that now if it wasn't for his parents sitting in the backseat, making it feel a little awkward.

"So Juliet," said Madeline from the driver's side back seat. "How have you been feeling?" It seemed to Shawn that every woman they came across lately had to ask her that question…or at least all of the ones who had given birth at some point in their lives.

Juliet turned her head to look at Maddie. "I feel like I am the size of a fire truck," she answered. "…and my feet hurt, my back hurts, she keeps waking me up in the middle of the night. I'm sooo ready for this to be over."

"Sounds about normal," said Maddie. "Shawn was so active during my last two months, I don't think I got even one full night of sleep the whole time. Then, he had to go and arrive two weeks late," she said glancing at Shawn as if she was still blaming him for her discomfort. Juliet looked apprehensive at the thought of carrying around her daughter for that long.

"I'm sorry Mom," said Shawn defensively. "That was very inconsiderate of me. Clearly I should have been more attuned to my mother's needs at negative 6 weeks old."

"I tried to tell you that," said Henry. "You didn't listen, even then."

"Maybe I was just trying to avoid Henry-style parenting for as long as possible," said Shawn to his dad. "Maggie won't wait that long," he said comfortingly to Juliet while taking her hand in his. "I can tell she can't wait to meet her daddy by the way she gets excited every time I touch your belly." Juliet smiled. She hoped he was right. "Plus," he added. "If you really do get to be the size of a fire truck, we can get a Dalmatian." Juliet took her hand out of his forcefully and scowled at him. Shawn swallowed hard. He didn't mean to make her mad. It was just a joke.

"I am still partial to Pugs," said Juliet a few silent awkward moments later, "but maybe we should just focus on our new human first." She smiled at him sideways, and he was relieved that her anger had only lasted a moment.

Finally the car pulled up to Maryann and Lloyd's household which was lit up with flashing colored Christmas lights. A regal Douglas Fir stood in the front bay window adorned with decorations. Shawn saw two or three happy little boy faces pop up on either side of the tree. He found he was excited to see the looks on his new nephews' faces when they opened the awesome Nerf guns he had picked out for them.

Before they even made it to the front door, Juliet's mother, step-father, and two of her nephews were already standing in the open doorway. "Hi Auntie Julie and Uncle Shawnie!" the boys said while jumping up and down excitedly.

"Hey,little dudes!" said Shawn giving the boys their customary high fives.

"Hi Drake and Noah!" said Juliet. "You boys look so handsome tonight! I missed you so much!" She would have hugged them if she was able to lean over, but she did hug Maryann and Lloyd.

Her mother kissed her on the forehead and brushed her hair from her face. "How do you feel, Julie dear?" she said, forcing Juliet to repeat what she had just said in the car, except leaving out the comparison to the large crimson vehicle.

"It will be over soon," said Maryann. "…and it will all be worth it when you are holding my gorgeous granddaughter in your arms….and thank you, by the way," she said to Shawn, who looked behind himself to confirm he was the one she was actually talking to. "I love my grandsons, but I can only take so many little boys. It's about time I get a granddaughter."

"It's about time we get a grandchild. Period," said Henry, and Maddie nodded in agreement.

"You're welcome," said Shawn proudly to Maryann, "…even though it wasn't really my decision." If Gus were there, he would have pointed out that the reason Maggie was a girl was due to Shawn's sperm containing an X chromosome. It was probably a good thing that Gus wasn't there. The family settled in, put their presents under the tree, and brought their bags to their rooms. Lloyd and Maryann had a large enough place for everyone to stay the night. Henry and Lloyd immediately got to chatting about sports or fishing or whatever the buddies talked about, Juliet and Maddie joined Maryann and Juliet's sisters-in-law in the kitchen, and Shawn found himself forced to strike up a conversation with his new brothers-in-law. He found that they were much more receptive of him than their first meeting.

After an afternoon of Shawn getting his butt whipped at Scottish games, and a lively turkey dinner put on by Maryann where-in Juliet's nephews started a mini food fight, the family settled into the living room for a nightcap and Christmas carols. The younger boys were dressed in pajamas and allowed to stay up briefly before bedtime. Shawn and Juliet were cuddling on the couch when 5-year-old Noah came up to them, and said, "Uncle Shawnie! Santa is coming tonight!"

"I know!" said Shawn, surprised that the boy had chosen him for this announcement. "Have you been a good boy this year?"

"I think so…," Noah said, continuing to think carefully. "Except for the time I drew dinosaurs on daddy's work papers…and when I pinched Sadie Wilkinson, but my mommy said Santa forgave me for those."

"Don't worry little man," said Shawn. "My buddy Gus and I once dug a hole in the backyard and broke a water main. Then we got caught trying to parachute from the roof of the house. I still got a brand new bike and a Castle Greyskull that year and I think Gus got the Chemistry kit he wanted."

"Shawn! Don't tell him that!" Juliet slapped his arm. "Noah, don't listen to Uncle Shawn. You still need to be a good boy, but I don't think you'll have to worry this year. I'm sure you're on Santa's nice list."

"Ok," he said. He continued to stand there looking at Juliet curiously and quietly. He had been doing that all night. Shawn and Juliet shared a glance and shrugged.

"Noah, did you want to say something?" asked Juliet.

"Yeah…I….I was wondering why….why your belly is so big," he said timidly.

Juliet turned red, but invited him to sit between her and Shawn on the couch. "Well Noah, that's because your little baby cousin Maggie is in there. She's been growing in my belly for the last eight months and pretty soon she will come out and we can all meet her."

"Ohhh!" said Noah. "Why didn't she come out before Christmas? If I were her I would come out now so that Santa can bring me presents."

"That's a perfectly logical thought, there, little guy," said Shawn. "Unfortunately, she's not ready yet. She has to grow until she's strong enough to come out."

"Oh," said Noah. He was quiet again which Shawn had now come to realize that meant he had another question to ask.

"What do you want to know, buddy?" asked Shawn.

"Um…how did she get in there?" he asked timidly again. This time both Shawn and Juliet turned red and looked at each other. Noah looked back and forth between the two of them waiting for an answer.

Shawn looked back to Noah. "Well…you see little man….when two people like your Auntie Juliet and I love each other very much…."

"Noah!" interrupted Juliet. "I think that's a question you need to ask your daddy…but not right now. Isn't it about your bedtime? Santa can't bring your presents until you are asleep." To her relief, Noah totally forgot about his question at the mention of Santa.

"Can Uncle Shawn tuck me in?" he asked.

"I suppose so," said Juliet. Before Shawn got up to take Noah to bed, Juliet gave Shawn another slap and shook her head.

"What?" said Shawn defensively.

-Pineapple-

Christmas morning came quickly. It was filled with excited children ripping open their presents and a hearty breakfast. Shawn and his dad did their traditional gift exchange, and once again Shawn guessed correctly that his Dad had given him a new vehicle emergency kit for the Honda. Shawn and Juliet exchanged a few gifts but had the best ones saved for when they got home. Everyone said their goodbyes and the Spencers got back on the road by noon.

Immediately upon entering through their front door, Juliet pulled Shawn close to her and kissed him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Just for being you," she answered. "So, what is this surprise you've been planning?"

"Surprise? What makes you think I have a surprise for you?"

"Come on, Shawn. I am a detective and you are my husband. I think I can tell when you are acting suspicious," she said.

"Alright, that's fair," said Shawn. He walked over to their Christmas tree and pulled a small package out from inside the branches and handed it to Juliet. "This…is just part one," he said.

Juliet took the package and ripped off the '_Christmas Story'_ wrapping paper to reveal a blue velvet box. Inside was a sparkling silver necklace with a vibrant blue sapphire fixed between several tiny diamonds. "It reminded me of your eyes…" said Shawn as Juliet gazed at the piece of jewelry inside the box.

"It's beautiful!" she said giving Shawn another tender kiss.

"Just like you," said Shawn. "But that's only part one, remember. Now for part two...close your eyes." Juliet closed her eyes and Shawn led her up the stairs, through the hallway and into one of the bedrooms. Even before she opened her eyes, Juliet knew which one it was, but kept her eyes closed until Shawn told her to open them. When the command finally came, she found herself standing in the completely finished nursery. Only a few days ago, the room was still barely put together, but today it was warm and welcoming with a soft purple painted on the walls. Pink and turquoise butterflies along with letters spelling the name "Maggie" were painted above the crib which was covered in the pink bedding that Juliet had pointed out at Babies R' Us a few weeks ago. She didn't think Shawn had even been paying attention when she said that she wanted it. On top of everything else, Shawn had gotten a comfortable looking rocking chair and had fully stocked the changing table.

Juliet couldn't restrain her tears. "I can't believe you did all of this," she said. "It's perfect!"

"Honestly, I had a little help. It turns out my dad has some mean skills with a paint brush."

"You don't know how much of a relief it is to know the nursery is finally put together. Now I feel like we are really ready for this."

Shawn was not sure exactly how 'ready' he felt but nodded in agreement.

"I have a surprise for you too," said Juliet finally pulling another small package out of her sweater pocket.

"Jules! Did you get me a sapphire necklace too? How thoughtful!" he said playfully when he saw the package with a similar shape and size to the one he had given her. He shook the package next to his ear a few times and crumpled his eyebrows curiously when he heard a jingling inside. "Did you get me a dog collar?" he asked confused.

"No, Shawn…just open it," she said.

"He shrugged, ripped off the paper, and opened the box to see a very familiar looking set of keys with "Norton" printed on them in a swooshy font. "My bike…" he said softly.

"Shawn, I was proud of you for getting a car, but I realized that your bike is part of who you are. You haven't been quite the same since you traded it in. I don't want you to change yourself for me. I love you the way you are."

Shawn was still processing this unexpected development. "You bought my bike back?"

"It's in the garage," she said simply.

Shawn stared at her dumbfounded until his voice caught up with what was going on in his head. "Oh my god! I love you so much!" Shawn exclaimed.

"Just…no baby on the bike, ok?"

"I wouldn't dream of it!" said Shawn. "Jules….in light of this recent development, I'd like to add a 'part three' to my gift to you."

"Ok, what's that?" said Juliet, noticing that Shawn's face was getting closer to hers.

"This," he said, taking her head in his hands, her hair cascading through his fingers, as he joined his lips to hers and kissed her with the most passion that he was capable. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she responded with an equal amount of passion.

"Merry Christmas Mrs. Spencer," said Shawn when their lips finally parted.


	6. Chapter 6

**First off, thanks for all of the wonderful reviews, especially pineapplegirl123. I love to hear your thoughts and it inspires me to keep the story moving.**

**Secondly, prepare yourself for some mystery and suspense...**

**here it is.**

* * *

After a few days of much needed rest, it was back to the daily grind and back to the Bundy case. Shawn was on his own this time, since Gus was still in London and Lassiter and McNab were investigating another death; a man who had sadly been electrocuted by a string of Christmas lights on Christmas day – Shawn couldn't help but think how Christmas would be forever ruined for that man's family. Shawn at least had Jules to help him with whatever research could be done from behind her desk, but he would have to do all of the field investigation on his own…unless he could convince his dad to come along. Nah! That didn't sound like fun at all.

"Ok," started Shawn, thinking out loud from his usual perch on the corner of Juliet's desk. "We've got a murder that was fixed to look like a suicide, and another suicide one week earlier. A father and a daughter…both dead within one week of each other…" he paused.

"Where does that leave us?" asked Juliet.

"Well, we could be left at the alter…or with the cake out in the rain…or our hearts in San Francisco…but no. There is a connection here, which I am fairly certain leaves us with one of two scenarios. A.) Someone blamed Robert for his daughter's suicide and wanted revenge, or 2.) Alice's death wasn't a suicide and someone murdered both of them."

"Shawn," said Juliet. "Lassiter and McNab investigated Alice's death themselves and found no evidence that anyone was involved in her death but herself."

"Still, it can't hurt just to look again, right? Plus, I wasn't there. I can talk to all of the hospital staff and I'll be able to tell if anyone is hiding anything."

"I suppose you're right…I just…" Juliet looked down and twiddled her fingers nervously.

"What? What's the problem?" asked Shawn.

"I just…don't like the idea of you going into a psychiatric hospital by yourself…remember what happened last time?"

"Jules! That was different. I had to pretend to be crazy. This time I am just going to be myself…or at least the psychic detective that everyone thinks I am."

"_That's _ what I'm worried about!" argued Juliet. "At least take someone with you."

Shawn knew who she was about to suggest and wanted to avoid it at all costs. "Like who? Curt Smith? Cary Elwes? Billy Zane? I don't think any of them are available."

"I was thinking your dad," said Juliet. _Damn. _There it was. He couldn't argue his way out of this. His dad was always available.

"Alright, fine," he said like a kid who was just told to go upstairs and finish his homework. "…but if he does that thing where he unzips his pants again, I am out."

Juliet looked much more relieved. "Ok then, you and your dad will investigate the 'Alice was murdered' angle, and I will get started on the second angle. I figure the best thing to do is call in the Harthans and see if they have any information on who might be connecting Alice and her father. They would know best about Alice's past with him. And…I hate to say it…but if anyone had motive to kill Robert over the death of Alice, it would be them."

"Jules, do you really think it's a good idea for you to interview a potential murderer…in your condition," said Shawn worriedly.

"Shawn, don't worry. It will be fine. We'll be inside the station and surrounded by cops." Shawn's apprehensive face didn't budge. "And if it makes you feel better, I'll have the chief sit in with me." That seemed to help a little.

"Alright doodle…no, uh…sweet…lady..bug, bah! I'll think of a new nickname later!" Juliet rolled her eyes. "Love you, see you tonight," he said.

"I love you too, Shawn. See you." Juliet reached for the phone and started to dial the Harthans' number.

###Pineapple###

Maplewood was nothing like the posh facility where Bernie Bethel was residing. It was much more hospital-like than resort-like, and Shawn was sure that if Bernie had been in this place, he wouldn't have been so gung-ho about going on the inside to investigate. He was thankful that he and his dad were only here to look around and ask a few questions.

Shawn and Henry were greeted by gray-haired female doctor by the name of Dr. Franklin. She was short and pudgy and had a comforting and welcoming air about her.

"Hi Dr. Franklin," said Shawn. "My name is Shawn Spencer and this is my partner…"

"My name is Henry Spencer and I am his father," interrupted Henry before Shawn could give him a stupid nickname. "We are investigating the death of Alice Bundy."

"A couple of officers were already here and I told them everything I knew," said Dr. Franklin, matter-of-factly.

"I understand that, Dr. Franklin," said Shawn. "However, I am a psychic detective and I am damn good, crazy good, psychotic good, even…"

"Shawn!" warned Henry.

"You see Dr. Franklin…can I call you Frank?..."

"No. You can call me Wendy if you like, though."

"Hmmm…No that won't work," said Shawn. "I'll just call you Dr. Franklin. You, see Dr. Franklin, I am sensing that there is much more to Alice's death than meets the eye. It may not look as it seems…it may not seem as it looks. There is something suspicious about it, _'off' _if that's the term that you choose to use, maybe even out of the ordinary…"

"What he means is, we have reason to believe that Alice's death may not have been a suicide," piped in Henry, impatiently.

Dr. Franklin was hesitant but something about her suggested that she thought Shawn and Henry might be onto something. "To be honest, I can't for the life of me figure out how anyone else could have done this to her. She had herself locked in her room from the inside before it happened. I saw her in there myself and tried to convince her to come out, but…." Wendy paused as if trying to decide whether she should say what she was about to say.

"But…?" questioned both Shawn and Henry simultaneously.

"…but, it's just that…I don't understand what brought Alice to do this in the first place. She's been here for seven years and while, yes, she was in pretty bad shape when she got here, she was doing remarkably well more recently. We were even considering her for release in a few months. Then all of sudden, she just snapped. The day before her sui…she died…she had managed to escape the facility. She's never once tried to do that before. When we found her and took her back in, she was…_'off' _as you say, different."

"How, so?" asked Henry.

"She isolated herself in her room…wouldn't speak to anyone. Not even Taylor. She hasn't been like that since she was first admitted all those years ago."

"Who's Taylor?" asked Shawn and Henry at the same time.

"Oh. I suppose the officers didn't tell you about her. She is another one of our patients. She and Alice have become very close since Taylor was admitted here two years ago. Alice was a few years older than Taylor and served a sort of…big sister type role. They had some similar experiences in their past and Alice was helping tremendously in getting Taylor through it, so we encouraged the friendship."

"They were both abused?" asked Henry for clarification.

"Yes," confirmed Dr. Franklin, simply. "Anyway, Taylor was the one who saw Alice burn herself. After Alice locked herself in her room, I went to find some other staff to help me get her out. By the time we got to the door, the room was already engulfed in flames and Taylor was standing outside screaming. She said she saw Alice burn herself through the window and had tried to talk her out of it."

"Where is this Taylor, now?" asked Shawn.

"She is in her room. She's been taking this hard. Inconsolable."

"Dr. Franklin," said Henry. "Were you and your staff aware that Alice's father and abuser was released from prison only one month before Alice's death?"

"Yes, of course," she answered. "We were worried how Alice would take it, but she seemed to be taking it extraordinarily well. She seemed to have accepted that her father was in her past and would not be a part of her future. That is…until she snapped. If you are asking whether her father's release contributed to her suicide, I suppose it's a strong possibility."

"Dr. Wendy Franklin M.D…" continued Shawn, addressing the woman by her full name and title.

"Psy.D," corrected Dr. Franklin.

"Hey, how about that?!" said Shawn in a high pitched voice. "Psy-chic. Psy-D," he said pointing to himself and then to Dr. Franklin. "We're like two peas in a pod." Henry rolled his eyes and elbowed his son, but Dr. Franklin actually chuckled a bit.

"Anyway…" continued Henry, not patient enough to allow Shawn to get to the point. "Were you also aware that Alice's father was found dead in his home just a few days ago…murdered."

Dr. Franklin gasped. "No. No. I had no idea!" she said.

"As you might have guessed," continued Shawn. "This new development has naturally caused us to question the circumstances of Alice's death. Is there any chance that we can talk to Taylor and see Alice's room?"

"You can certainly see Alice's room. You can try to talk to Taylor, but I am not sure if she will speak to you. She is still in pretty bad shape."

Dr. Franklin took Shawn and Henry to Alice's room which was charred and black, but partially cleaned up since the investigation. She pointed out where Alice was found lying on her bed once the fire was extinguished and described that she was only bones and ash by the time they got to her. She said that her face was shattered to pieces, which was consistent with Taylor's claim that she had witnessed her smash her face into the bed post several times before catching fire to herself. Taylor had also said that she had poured gasoline all over herself and the room, which explained how the fire burned so fast and hot to destroy the entire contents of the room. From the looks of it, Shawn nor Henry could see anything so far that didn't add up.

They attempted to speak to Taylor, but the girl was glued to her bed and refused to speak or remove her pillow from her face. They could try again later, but Taylor was clearly not going to be any help in the near future. After speaking to a few more staff members, who were perfectly cooperative and corroborated everything that Dr. Franklin had told them, Henry and Shawn decided that they had gleaned all that they could from Maplewood, which unfortunately wasn't much.

Pineapple

Juliet and Chief Vick sat next to each other in Interrogation Room B. Mr. and Mrs. Harthan sat across from them, holding hands. They were somber, and looked tired, drained, and defeated. To Juliet, neither of them looked capable of committing murder. They were good people, right? After all, they took in Alice all those years ago out of the goodness of their hearts. Alice was clearly a troubled girl, even then. They would have known that it was a lot to take on, yet they did it anyway. They didn't have to do it, but they did.

On the other hand, a lot had happened since then. They tragically lost their daughter Doreen seven years ago, and now they lost their 'adopted' daughter Alice. It was possible that their hearts were crushed beyond repair. It made sense that they would want to take it out on the man who had started it all, the man who had abused their little girl. Even though Alice wasn't technically their daughter, they loved her like their own. The thought of someone abusing her own little Maggie, sent an anger through Juliet that she thought would be enough to want to kill. But would she really do it? She didn't know. Juliet shook her head, took a deep breath, and entered 'detective mode.'

"Mr. and Mrs. Harthan," she began. "I suppose you might have guessed why we brought you in today." She figured they had probably heard about Mr. Bundy's murder which had been all over the news. "We are aware that this is a difficult time for you, but we feel it's necessary to speak with you to see if you have any information as to who might have killed Mr. Bundy, and possibly…." She said the next part very carefully since she wasn't sure if the Harthans had considered it a possibility. "…killed Alice.

Mrs. Harthan's head tilted to the side curiously, but she didn't look surprised. "Do you think somebody killed her?"

"We're not sure," said Juliet. "…but in light of the Mr. Bundy's murder, we've had to consider it a possibility. We have a couple of our best investigators on it right now."

The Chief nodded for extra confirmation. So far she hadn't said anything since technically she was only there at Juliet's request to dispel Shawn's worries. She knew that Juliet was capable of doing this on her own, but didn't turn down the request partially because she felt a certain protectiveness toward Juliet too. From her own experience, she knew that Juliet probably despised being treated like a fragile porcelain doll, but still she couldn't help but feel her presence was necessary.

"Mrs. Harthan, you don't seem to be surprised about the possibility that Alice was murdered," said Juliet.

Mrs. Harthan let a tiny sob escape and answered. "It's just that…suicide…it didn't make sense. Alice was doing so well. She had come to terms with Doreen's death. She still wore those rings every day that they shared but they made her smile rather than get angry like they used to. She finished her college classes while in the hospital and even completed her master's. She was talking about going on for her doctorate. The doctors all said she was nearing a full recovery. Her future was looking so bright, it just didn't make sense that she would…" Mrs. Harthan's words got caught in her throat as she was unable to control her sobs.

"So, what do you want from us?" asked Mr. Harthan.

"Well, first…and just know that this is a necessary and routine question. We are not accusing you of anything. We need to know where you were on the night of Saturday the 23rd."

Mrs. Harthan's sobs escalated when she had apparently come to realize that they were suspects. Mr. Harthan squeezed her hand soothingly and addressed Juliet.

"We were attending a dinner party at a friend's home. A Mr. Bradley Corning, a colleague and old friend of mine, and his wife Monica. There were two other couples there too. All of them will confirm it." The Chief wrote down the information and handed it to an officer who was standing outside the door so that the alibi could be checked out.

"Good," said Juliet. She was relieved. Mr. Harthan's answer was quick and straightforward. There was no wavering in his voice and he displayed no nervous tics. She was feeling confident that neither he nor Mrs. Harthan were guilty. "Now…is there anyone you can think of who may have wanted to kill Mr. Bundy, or Alice perhaps."

"It's hard to say…" said Mr. Harthan, clearly troubled. "We haven't been in contact with Mr. Bundy for twenty years….and Alice…she didn't have any enemies…."

"…except maybe the family of the girl she killed before she went to Maplewood, Bianca Simmons," suggested Mrs. Harthan.

"Thank you, we did consider them and we are checking into that," Juliet informed them.

"So, aside from the Simmons family you can't think of anyone else who may have wanted to kill Alice or Mr. Bundy?"

The Harthan's hesitated and looked at each other as if they were having a conversation through their eyes.

"What are you thinking?" asked the Chief, unable to contain her curiosity.

Mrs. Harthan nodded at her husband, and Mr. Harthan answered. "We can't think of anyone in particular, but we thought that there is something you would want to know about Mr. Bundy."

"We're listening," said Juliet.

Mr. Harthan continued. "You are probably aware that Mrs. Bundy passed away about a year before we discovered that Mr. Bundy was abusing Alice." Both Juliet and the Chief nodded and he continued. "Her death was ruled an accident, but….well, you may want to take a closer look at the case. The department wasn't able to come up with enough evidence against him, but the circumstances surrounding her death were suspicious at best. Essentially, the two of us have long believed that Mrs. Bundy's death was not an accident."

Juliet's and Chief Vick's eyes widened and their gaze met. They were definitely going to take a closer look at that case.

&&&Pineapple&&&

Shawn stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed. Juliet was already lying down, shifting around and trying to find a comfortable position. It had been a long day. The tired couple had their usual pre-bedtime conversation. Even though Harris Trout was no longer keeping them from working together, they still continued their night-time chats that they had initiated during his brief tenure as chief.

"So the Harthans and the Simmons have an alibi. The clues still suggest that Alice's death was a suicide, although…." Shawn didn't have to put his hand to his head to realize that a large majority of the circumstance surrounding Alice's death rested on Taylor's word.

"Although what?" asked Juliet.

"Taylor…she is the only one who is still a potential suspect…but that is only based on circumstances. There's no apparent motive there."

"Plus, if we are thinking that one person is responsible for both deaths, Taylor couldn't have killed Robert. She was in Maplewood the whole time," pointed out Juliet.

"You're right," said Shawn. "I'm starting to think that Alice really did kill herself." Shawn laid down sideways and faced Juliet. "…but why…? …and what happened to her that afternoon when she left the hospital? That was obviously when she snuck in the gasoline, so she was clearly planning this at least for a little while…maybe she _was _just distraught over her father's release?"

"I don't know Shawn," moaned Juliet. "Can we think about this in the morning? I really need some sleep."

"Yes, yes of course," said Shawn, finally giving Juliet and Maggie a goodnight kiss, turning off the lights, and cuddling into his blankets.

%%%Pineapple%%%

It seemed as soon as his head hit the pillow, Shawn was being awakened again, even though the clock clearly said it had been four hours. He felt a tight grip on his arm and heard his name next to him.

"Shawn?" whimpered Juliet. Shawn popped up immediately and saw Juliet clutching her stomach and breathing heavily, tears spilling from her eyes.

"Jules! What's wrong?" he said allowing her to squeeze his hand.

"I think the baby's coming," she grunted.

"Now?! It's too early! You're not due for a month!" Shawn panicked.

"I know. It hurts!"

Shawn took a deep breath. He had to stay calm. For Juliet. "Ok. Don't Panic. Let's get you to the hospital."

* * *

**I promise I'll try not to keep you hanging on the cliff for too long!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok. Finally. It's been a crazy week, but I finally got a chance to sit down and write some more last night. I hope you enjoy this addition.**

* * *

As promised, Shawn notified Gus and his parents as soon as Juliet went into labor. It wasn't until later that Shawn remembered Gus was out of the country and wouldn't be showing up at the hospital in his fire truck PJs to support him in his pending fatherhood. They were about a mile from the hospital when Shawn glanced over at his wife and asked how she was doing.

"Um…not bad actually," Juliet said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Really?" said Shawn. "You seemed like you were in a lot of pain just ten minutes ago."

"I know. I was, but now it's kind of easing up a little. It's not so bad anymore."

By the time they got to the emergency room, Juliet's contractions had stopped altogether. They were embarrassed when the doctor finally got to them and it was obvious that Juliet was having no signs of labor. The doctor assured them that Juliet had experienced false labor and their response was extremely normal for first time parents. He did a brief examination to ensure that the baby was still happy and healthy and sent them on their way.

Henry rushed into the maternity ward waiting room followed shortly after by Madeline, only to find a very calm but tired-looking Shawn and Juliet on their way out.

"Shawn! Juliet? What happened? I thought you said the baby was coming?" exclaimed Henry, his tone switching from urgency to confusion with a twinge of annoyance.

"We thought so too," said Juliet. "…but apparently, our little girl has other plans."

"The doctor said it was just Burton's Hiccups," said Shawn. "…although, I can't for the life of me figure out why Gus' throat spasms have anything to do with this."

"Do you mean Braxton-Hicks?" asked Maddie.

"Yes he does," clarified Juliet. "Braxton-Hicks contractions, Shawn. False labor." Juliet cringed. "If that's only false labor, I'm not sure I'm ready to know what real labor feels like."

"There's no need to sugar coat it," said Maddie. "It's a lot worse, but it will be worth it."

"That's what everyone says…" Juliet said quietly. She gulped at the thought of all the pain she knew she was going to experience before long. "Anyway, the doctor said it's normal to have contractions up to a month before the baby is born and they usually happen during the night. He thinks we still have a good three to four weeks to go. I just hope I am not exhausted from lack of sleep by then."

Shawn soothingly rubbed Juliet's back. "Then we should probably get you home and back to bed, sweetheart. And you might as well take the morning off and sleep in. I'll call the Chief in the morning."

"That sounds wonderful," said Juliet through a yawn. "Sorry we got you guys out of bed so late," she apologized to Henry and Maddie. Both of them nodded and assured her that it wasn't a problem, but when she wasn't looking Henry made sure to give his son a light slap on the backside of his head.

^^^Pineapple^^^

The next morning, Shawn woke to find Juliet sleeping soundly next to him. He smiled. She looked so beautiful with her shiny blonde hair cascading around her face…so peaceful, her breaths light and regular. Shawn kissed her forehead as lightly as possible so as not to wake her, taking in her lavender scent as he did so, then carefully crawled out of bed. He decided that he would start off his morning at the Psych Office and wrack his brain on how to proceed next with the Bundy case.

Juliet awoke about an hour later. At first she was disappointed when her hand reached over to Shawn's empty side of the bed, but then she grinned at the sight of a tray of food and the smell of pineapple in the air. Shawn had made her some of his specialty pineapple pancakes and left her a sweet note saying that he was going to work and something about reliving his dream from the night before which involved the two of them flying over Santa Barbara in a hot air balloon made entirely of Red Vines. The pancakes were cold. He obviously hadn't thought that they might be cold by the time she woke up, but she loved him for his effort.

)))Pineapple(((

Shawn sat at his desk in the Psych office, leaning back in his chair and squeezing the squishy frog, watching its eyes pop from its head and then retract back into its body when he released. Something about focusing on the frog allowed him to release some of the tension that had built up over the last few days and especially the night before. He thought it would have been better though if Gus were sitting at his desk across from him so he could tease him about his obsession with the National Gingerbread House Building Championship or _Vampire Diaries. _Nothing released tension betting than messing with Gus. It was a good thing Gus was going to be back in only two days, because God knows he would need his sweet black head nearby once Juliet really went into labor.

Shawn put down the frog and leaned towards his laptop about to get started on the case, when he heard the door to the Psych Office open and shut and the ginormous goofy frame of Buzz McNab appeared in the doorway.

"McNabby!" exclaimed Shawn, surprised to see Buzz standing in his office. He wondered whether Buzz had actually even stepped foot in the Psych Office before, and from the way Buzz's gaze was roaming around the room and causing him to smile and nod when he caught sight of the many toys and silly objects, it was clear that he hadn't.

"Nice place you've got here," said Buzz grabbing an orange foam ball and tossing it towards the child's plastic basketball hoop. It missed by more than a foot, and Buzz shrugged and blushed. "I never was good at sports, anyway."

"Who needs to be able to throw a ball into a hoop when you are tall enough to just walk over and drop it in," stated Shawn. Buzz grinned happily and chuckled. "…besides, you are one badass strawberry and nutella crepe cooker and that's all anyone really needs anyway," added Shawn. "So what brings you to my neck of the woods?" Shawn glanced at the case file in Buzz's hand and figured that had something to do with why he was here.

"Well…it's this case." Buzz's smile dropped into a frown and he began pacing. "…the Christmas light case."

"Seriously?" asked Shawn. "The Christmas light case? That's what you're calling it? You've got to be able to come up with something more creative than that. Like, how about…'Silent Night, Deadly Night,' or 'God Rest Ye, Smoking Gentleman,'…Oooo! 'Dude's Nuts Roasting on an Electric Fire.'" Despite Shawn's suggestions, Buzz didn't crack a smile. He realized Buzz must really be troubled if he couldn't even get him to laugh at his jokes. "Ok, I can see this is serious," said Shawn. "Serious isn't really my forte but I will give it a try. What do you need Buzz?"

Buzz continued to pace. "It's just that…well, I want to make a good impression on the Chief and Lassiter while I have this opportunity…you know, to show them I can be a good detective. But…what am I supposed to do when I think that my partner's explanation for a case is wrong….and worse yet, when I _know _he's wrong, but he refuses to listen to my take on it?""

"Buzz! Way to go, buddy!" said Shawn proudly.

Buzz's eyebrows crumpled in confusion. "Huh? For what?"

"For using your _gut, _man!" cried Shawn. "The first step towards being a good detective is trusting in your _gut_, even when nobody else agrees with you. I keep telling Lassie that that is the only thing keeping him from being a super-cop. He never trusts his _gut_. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that Lassie seems to digest his rice cakes just fine, I would guess he didn't even have a gut."

Buzz lightened up for a moment at Shawn's praise, but it was short-lived. "So if Lassiter doesn't even trust his own gut, how am I going to get him to trust mine?"

"You can't," said Shawn simply and Buzz's shoulders dropped. "The only things Lassiter will trust are facts. Sooo…_you _act on your gut and you find the facts that you need to convince Lassiter otherwise."

"So, you are saying that I have to go against my partner's orders?" asked Buzz unsurely.

"Yes and no," answered Shawn. "You don't necessarily have to go behind his hairy back, but going with your gut is always risky. One thing is for sure though. If you never take that risk, you will never prove yourself to Lassiter, the Chief, or anyone."

Buzz nodded in understanding. It made sense. _Who knew Shawn was such a wise man? _"Ok, I get it," he said. "So, do you think you could help me find those facts?"

"Only if we can go for smoothies after," said Shawn.

"You got it," said Buzz, the smile returning to his face. Buzz opened the case file and spread out the crime scene photos on Gus's desk because Shawn's was too cluttered and began to explain what he knew. "Ok, so Gregory Holden was found in his home, electrocuted, and holding a string of Christmas lights. Lassiter's official statement says that Holden's death was accidental…he appeared to be removing the lights from his Christmas tree when an exposed wire made contact with a puddle on the floor and electrocuted him. The puddle apparently had come from a leak in the upstairs bathroom which had soaked everything in that corner of the room…including all of his little boy's Christmas presents." Buzz frowned.

"Worst. Christmas. Ever. for that kid. So what's your gut telling you?" Shawn asked Buzz.

"The circumstances just don't add up. For one, why was Holden taking the lights _off _of the tree on Christmas Eve?"

"Well either he was the Grinch stealing Christmas, or he was trying to fix them," said Shawn.

"Ok, well, I can't rule out the Grinch theory, but what did he need to fix? They were a brand new set of lights and they were still working just fine when forensics tested them." Buzz continued, "Secondly, why was he doing this a three AM? His wife said they finished putting the gifts under the tree at midnight and went to bed. Apparently he is a pretty sound sleeper, so his wife found it hard to believe he would have gotten up in the middle of the night."

"Maybe he had to pee, then noticed the leak in the bathroom and went downstairs to check it out."

"That's what I thought too, and I suppose it's a possibility, but his wife believes that is out of character for him. Plus she said the plumbing was fairly new and didn't understand why it would have leaked." Buzz paused and paced a little more. So far his arguments were not very strong. Shawn perused the crime scene photos to try to get his own take on the incident.

"Ok, so maybe there are ways to explain away those inconsistencies," said Buzz, "…but how do you explain the fact that the Christmas lights were not even plugged in?"

"Huh?" said Shawn, momentarily taking his eyes from the photos to look questioningly at Buzz. "The lights that supposedly electrocuted Holden weren't even plugged in? That doesn't make any sense."

"Yeah," confirmed Buzz with a shrug. "Lassiter said something about Holden pulling them out of the socket while writhing from the electrocution…."

Shawn continued Buzz's line of reasoning while carefully analyzing the crime scene photos again. "…but based on how Holden and the lights were positioned…that seems impossible."

"Exactly!" said Buzz, now pleased with the fact that someone was seeing this his way and appearing more confident with himself.

Shawn paused while staring intently at one of the photos. He realized he had completely forgotten about keeping up his psychic act and decided to make use of it. "Oh! Oh, McNab! I'm feeling something about this photo." He picked it up and began shaking it violently, making it appear like the photo was trying to break free of his hands of its own accord. "Something is definitely off here and I am sensing the clue is in this photo. Hurry up! Take it from me before it flies away!"

Buzz's eyes were widened in awe as he grabbed several times for the photo that was threatening to fly from Shawn's hand. He finally got it and scrutinized it thoroughly. Shawn feigned relief and exhaustion at the removal of the paper from his hand and used the desk to hold himself up, breathing heavily. Buzz shook his head from side to side and looked Shawn in the eye. "I don't…."

"It's there, Buzz. Keep looking," encouraged Shawn.

Buzz's eyes drifted back to the photo and after a few more seconds they narrowed as he apparently was focusing on something at the bottom of the photo. "Wait… What's this?" he said, bringing the paper closer to his face.

Shawn half-smiled when he realized Buzz was seeing what he wanted him to see. Buzz turned the photo around so Shawn could see. Shawn pretended to painfully look away and then force his eyes on the spot on the photo where Buzz was pointing. "What is it?" Shawn asked faux-fearfully.

"See that shiny line…there on the floor between these two floorboards…in the puddle…right next to Holden's feet." explained Buzz.

Shawn looked to and from the photo as if it was burning his eyes. He nodded swiftly and gulped. "I see it," he said, looking away and closing his eyes as if relieved that he wouldn't have to lay eyes on the photo again.

"I think it's a wire," concluded Buzz. "…most likely the wire that actually electrocuted Holden."

"What's it doing there?" asked Shawn, fully aware of the answer but playing dumb so that Buzz could come to the conclusion himself.

"Well…my guess is that someone put it there," concluded Buzz. "…probably the same someone who started the leak in the bathroom and lured Holden out of bed in the middle of the night…someone who meant to kill him." Buzz's face became serious when he realized the weight of his conclusion and the responsibility that lay ahead of him.

Shawn took a deep breath and said in a dramatic half-whisper, "My senses say you may be right, Detective McNab."

* * *

**I hope this isn't getting too confusing. I promise it will all come together in the end.**

**I just love getting reviews :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok. Just because I made everyone wait so long, I am rewarding you with another chapter. Two in one day! Woot! Please don't blame me though. You can blame the jerks at my local kennel who gave my puppy back to me damaged. Poor little guy was in so much pain, I was too sad to write. He's doing better now, in case you wondered.**

* * *

"So the Holden case is a murder now too?" questioned Juliet from her desk at the SBPD. After a wonderful morning of sleeping in and eating cold pineapple pancakes, she returned to her usual position at her desk, processing the paperwork for all of Lassiter's and McNab's cases. Shawn too, returned to his usual position on the corner of her desk, hovering over every bit of paperwork she had to do.

"Well, I'm not 200% sure, but it looks that way. Lassie and McNab are going to take another look at the crime scene in a bit," said Shawn while savoring his burrito. Juliet had already gobbled hers down quicker than Shawn could say "sinkhole sissy-feet flapjack go-go boots."

"Aren't you going too?" she asked, knowing that Shawn usually couldn't resist going to a crime scene.

"Uh…no. I think I'll stay right here…" Shawn wouldn't admit it but Juliet could tell that ever since her false alarm last night, he was afraid to leave her side. Even his trip to the office that morning was short-lived since he couldn't focus on anything but his ticking time bomb of a wife.

"Shawn…," said Juliet impatiently. "If you continue to treat me like I am going to burst at any moment for the next three to four weeks, I am going to go nuts."

"Well, I definitely don't want that to happen…unless of course you turn into pistachios. I do love me some pistachios!" Juliet tilted her head to the side, half impatiently and half amused. "Just humor me, please. Just for today," pleaded Shawn." Juliet gave in and allowed him to remain at her desk.

Lassiter walked towards the couple shortly. His gait was hesitant, as if he expected Juliet to explode if he got too close.

"What's wrong Lassitudinal? Forget to take your confidence serum today?" joked Shawn.

"Nothing…I'm fine," he said forcing himself to straighten up and step forward. "So O'Hara…I heard you had some of those…contraction thingies last night…"

"First of all," started Shawn. "It's Spencer now, not O'Hara. And secondly, they were only Hilton-Bradley contractions. She's not going to squat and give birth right here in the station."

Juliet screwed up her face at Shawn's embarrassing statement. "Braxton-Hicks contractions," she corrected, "and Shawn's right. They are totally normal, and it doesn't mean I am going into labor anytime soon."

Lassiter nodded nervously. "What…what did it feel like?" he asked timidly.

Shawn and Juliet shared a confused glance. Lassiter's awkwardness had officially reached an all-time high.

"Why do you want to know? You planning on having some labor pains yourself?" questioned Shawn with a teasing laugh.

"No!" said Lassiter getting annoyed. "No reason…I was just trying to make conversation! Forget about it!" Lassiter began to stalk away but turned around mid-step and shouted. "I am never going to call her Spencer! She's O'Hara! She will always be O'Hara!"

"Geez! What's got his boxer's in a knot?" said Shawn when Lassiter was out of earshot. Juliet simply shook her head. Both of them were thinking of something, but didn't mention it. "Wait! What am I thinking?" said Shawn as realization dawned on him. "Lassie is definitely not the 'boxer's type.' His tighty whities must be too tight." Juliet groaned and elbowed her husband playfully.

&&&Pineapple&&&

While Lassiter and McNab were at the crime scene, Shawn and Juliet decided to do some digging on Gregory Holden, trying to determine who might have wanted him dead. At first glance, Holden appeared to be a perfect man…well-liked…generous…a family man…a former middle school teacher. He had a loving wife and 5-year-old son. He was not the type to accumulate enemies. However, a look deeper into his history revealed something questionable in his past. There was one report that marred his otherwise spotless record.

"Look at this, Shawn," said Juliet, pulling up the record on her computer. Shawn leaned over her curiously, his face so close to Juliet that she could feel his quickening breath on her neck. She knew that he knew she loved when he did that, but Juliet continued as if she was unphased by his proximity. "It's a restraining order against Holden, filed about ten years ago while he was a teacher at Leland Bosseigh Middle School. This blip on his record no doubt is what ended his teaching career."

"Hmm….Interesting," said Shawn continuing to breathe on Juliet's neck. "Does it say who filed it and what for?" he asked.

Juliet coughed, trying to resist the urge to turn around and kiss her husband. Before she continued she did turn her head, but instead spoke. "Are you seriously trying to turn me on right now? Right here in the station? In the middle of the day?"

"Why? Were you getting turned on?" said Shawn innocently, "I wasn't doing anything. It must be those hormones of yours acting up. You know how hormones can be."

"Shawn, don't play stupid. You know what you were doing?" Juliet said impatiently.

Shawn considered keeping up his dumb act but realized that Juliet would see right through it and opted against it. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. You are just so beautiful and you smell so nice."

Juliet blushed. "Seriously? I look like a cow right now!" She seriously couldn't fathom how Shawn could be so attracted to her right now when she felt the most unattractive she had felt in her entire life.

"No. No you don't," said Shawn. "Not unless you are the most beautiful cow in the world, with soft glowing hair and perfectly symmetrical spots…a cow that only eats roses and lilacs which makes even your poop wonderfully fragrant."

Juliet half grimaced and half smiled, not sure whether to be flattered or grossed out. "You're seriously attracted to me right now?"

"Yes. Yes, I am," said Shawn hungrily.

Juliet settled on flattered. She was suddenly feeling much better about her appearance. How did he do that to her? She was one lucky girl. "Well…that's really sweet, but do you think you can tell your libido to wait until we get home? We've got a case to work on now."

Shawn shook his head and backed away enough that he could no longer smell Juliet's intoxicating scent. "Ok. So where were we? Restraining order?"

Juliet turned back to her computer and clicked on the file. "Let's see…," she said scanning the document. The report was filed by the mother of one of Holden's students under claims that he was making inappropriate advances towards her daughter…?" The air in the room thickened as they realized the gravity of the situation. Gregory Holden may not have been the perfect gentleman that he seemed.

Shawn's suspicions were starting to come together and they were solidified when Lassiter and McNab finally returned from the crime scene and shared what they had come up with.

"Well, McNab was right," said Lassiter begrudgingly, McNab looking proudly at Shawn for his accomplishment. "Holden was definitely murdered. It appears that the sick and apparently evilly genius bastard rigged up an elaborate trap to coax Holden into being electrocuted on Christmas night and making it appear an accident. The only question is 'why?'"

"I think we might have an answer to that Buzz Lassityear," he said to the pair. "Jules, what was the name of the woman who filed the report on Holden ten years ago?"

Juliet read from the document on her computer screen. "It was a Mrs. Patricia Zane."

"Mother of….?"prompted Shawn.

"A Ms. Taylor Zane..." Sudden realization hit Juliet and the rest of the group.

"Boom!" said Shawn. "I do believe little miss 'inconsolable' may be even more troubled than she was letting on."

The foursome shared nervous glances as the new development in the case sunk in.

###Pineapple###

"You can't just walk in there and accuse the poor girl of murder, Shawn," said Juliet as she and Shawn paced up their block in the middle of the night, their bodies casting long shadows from the street lights on the ground beside them. At 2:00 AM, Juliet had awoken to contractions again and the doctor said the best thing for it was to get up and take a walk. And so they did. Both she and Shawn put on shoes and jackets and headed out into the darkness and chilly December air to wait out the sharp pains enveloping Juliet's abdomen. "Don't forget she's a victim too…" Juliet continued, "If whatever Holden did to her all of those years ago was enough to land her in a mental institution, it must have been awful. If you go in there accusing her, especially if she didn't do it, it might just damage her for good." Juliet stopped and breathed deeply as another contraction hit her and then quickly subsided.

Shawn rubbed Juliet's back soothingly and then they continued walking. "I see what you're saying," he said.

"Besides," Juliet continued. "Why are you so certain that Taylor did it anyway? I mean, how could she when she was in Maplewood the whole time?"

"I don't know for sure," said Shawn. "…but I don't think it's totally unlikely for her to have disappeared for a few hours. Alice somehow slipped away right under the staff's noses. She was gone for more than three hours before they realized she wasn't there, and they still can't explain how she slipped out unnoticed. Maybe it wasn't even the first time she did it. If Alice and Taylor were friends, it's possible they shared knowledge of a secret way in and out of the hospital."

"Hmmm…maybe…," said Juliet thinking it over. "Still, couldn't it have been just as likely that Taylor's mother did it?"

"Yes, and Lassie will find out tomorrow when he questions her," said Shawn. "But let me explain why I am so sure that Taylor did it. 1.) Mr. Holden's and Mr. Bundy's deaths were both presumably motivated by their history in abusing Alice and Taylor. It makes sense that Taylor would want to kill her own abuser and the abuser of her best friend who was driven to suicide. I can't see why Mrs. Zane would want to kill Mr. Bundy, especially before killing Mr. Holden. And, B.) Both murders were clearly committed by the same person…someone smart enough to orchestrate such elaborate set-ups. Mrs. Zane doesn't have the education required to do that, and Taylor doesn't either actually. But, Alice did. Alice was a genius in engineering, but considering that Alice is dead, I'm betting that she passed on some of her knowledge to her best friend. Even Dr. Franklin said that Alice was tutoring Taylor in several subjects. She was likely to have been teaching her engineering too, being her favorite subject."

Juliet had to admit, that Shawn's argument was sounding more and more convincing. She knew he was good at this stuff. She had learned to trust in his instincts. "Ok, Shawn. Someone clearly needs to question Taylor. But we need to handle this delicately. Whether she did it or not, it's going to be a difficult subject to bring up with her. I think we need to have someone more sensitive talk to her…like a woman."

"I suppose we could ask the Chief…" started Shawn.

"I was thinking, myself," Juliet cut in.

"Jules, I don't think…"

"Don't even say it, Shawn! I'm pregnant, not broken. If anything it will make me appear less threatening to her. You can come with me as long as you wait outside while I talk to her."

"Jules, I…" Shawn began to plead.

"Shaaawwnn!" growled Juliet with a look that Shawn thought might kill him there on the spot.

"O.K." he said. There wasn't anything else that he could say if he even had the ability to mutter anything else.

"I'm feeling better now," said Juliet succinctly. "Let's go inside."

"O.K." said Shawn following Juliet robotically back through their front door and to their bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

**This turned out way more angsty than I intended, but I think you'll like it**

* * *

Shawn pushed Juliet's wavy golden hair behind her ear and gave her a soft peck on her cheek. She gave him a crooked smile as if to assure him that everything would be ok before turning and entering Taylor Zane's room at Maplewood Psychiatric Hospital. The door latched behind her. Shawn watched through the 1 foot by 1 foot window in the door while Juliet carefully lowered herself into the chair next to Taylor's bed. Her voice was muffled through the heavy door as she announced her presence to Taylor who was lying just as she was the last time Shawn visited her room, her head covered by her pillow. Shawn realized he had never actually seen the girl's face before. He didn't know what she looked like.

Juliet gently laid a hand on Taylor's shoulder, but the girl didn't budge. Juliet tried speaking to her softly, making friendly conversation to try to build a trust between them. She assured Taylor that she was only there to ask her a few questions, that she was not a threat. Taylor only pressed the pillow more tightly over her head. Juliet shook her head, at a loss at what to do. She turned and her eyes met Shawn's. He could see they were filled with pity. Juliet stood and began to walk towards the door, but suddenly stopped mid-step. Her mouth dropped slightly and her eyes widened staring into Shawn's with a look of utter terror.

"Jules…what's wrong?" said Shawn loudly enough so she could hear him through the window.

Her head dropped to look at her stomach which her hands were clutching as if trying to keep it from falling away from her. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, hunched over in pain.

Shawn panicked. "Jules, it's ok! I'm here! I'm coming in!" He reached for the doorknob and turned, and to his horror found the door locked. He frantically turned the knob back and forth as if it might suddenly unlock itself and open. It didn't. He checked through the window again and saw his wife writhing on the floor, a puddle of blood forming underneath her.

"Shawn…help me," she moaned.

"Juliet! I'm here! I'm coming sweetheart!" Shawn's panic multiplied and he began pounding on the door and kicking it, but the solid metal didn't give. "Help! Someone help?! My wife…she's locked in!" The halls were not empty but no one seemed to hear him or come to his aid. "Taylor!" he yelled through the window. "Get up! Open the door! Please!" She didn't budge. Juliet continued to moan as blood continued to pool below her and her skin paled. "No! Juliet! Hang in there." He turned and started sprinting down the hall running headlong into Gus and falling backward.

"Gus?! You're back! I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow." He stood up. "Thank God you are here. You have to help me. Jules is in trouble." Gus didn't move or say a word, his expression blank. "Gus? What's wrong with you?!"

"You shouldn't have let her go in there," said Gus robotically.

"Gu…what?! Dammit! What is going on?!" Shawn ran his hands frustratingly through his hair and pulled. He turned and ran back towards Taylor's room and found the last person he expected standing in front of her door. But it didn't matter. It was someone who could help. "Despereaux? Thank God! Please help me! My wife….my daughter!"

Pierre Despereaux didn't budge either and in just the same monotone voice as Gus said, "What have you done?"

"What the hell is going on?!" Shawn screamed, turning his attention back to Taylor's door. Juliet was still on the floor barely conscious, her right hand and eyes reaching towards her husband desperately. Shawn saw that Taylor had finally gotten out of bed, her wild knotted hair framing her psychotic expression. She looked remarkably like Scary Sherry. Taylor pulled a knife out from behind her and held it above her head with both hands. Almost in slow motion, Shawn watched in horror as the she lowered the knife towards Juliet.

Shawn cried out in despair "Noooooo!"

He sat up in his bed sweat pouring down his face and bare chest. His covers had already been thrown off of him sometime during the night. Shawn's eyes darted about his bedroom and he came to realize he was in a familiar place. He sighed with relief to see his beautiful Juliet sleeping quietly. Just to make sure she was real he placed a passionate kiss on her lips that woke her from her slumber. He then pulled down the covers to make sure his daughter was still there. He rubbed Juliet's round stomach and kissed it softly.

"Shawn? What are doing? I was sleeping." said Juliet drowsily.

"Just making sure you and Maggie are still here," he said.

"We're here," she said. "What's wrong, Shawn?"

"Nothing. Nothing," he said through a laugh of relief and bringing his face close to hers again. "It was just a nightmare."

"Oh…we're here Shawn. Maggie and I aren't going anywhere," said Juliet cupping Shawn's prickly cheek in her hand. She kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Please don't go," he said, nuzzling his face into her neck. Juliet ran her fingers through Shawn's thick hair and his nerves calmed. They eventually drifted back to sleep in their positions and stayed that way until morning.

+++Pineapple+++

Shawn spent a better part of the morning just driving around aimlessly on his motorcycle. He was so grateful that Juliet had gotten it back for him, because he felt it was the only thing he could do to keep from going crazy at the moment. He just couldn't get that image of Juliet writhing on the floor out of his head. He knew it was just a dream, but it had seemed so real. At that moment, as unreal as it was, he felt like everything he had lived for was suddenly ripped away from him. He was afraid…terrified that he would lose everything. He needed Gus. He always could trust his oldest and blackest friend to make him feel that everything would be ok. Gus wasn't due back for another eighteen hours, so for now his dad would have to do.

Shawn parked his motorcycle in Henry Spencer's driveway. Shawn was disappointed it seemed for the first time ever that his dad was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't home. Shawn retrieved the spare key he had hidden behind the garage. As if by some miracle, Henry still didn't know that it was there. Otherwise he would have made sure it was removed from its hiding spot a long time ago. Shawn entered through the kitchen door and immediately grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and popped it open. He then proceeded to wander through his boyhood home. It had been a long while since he had been there alone, with nothing but the mounted fish to keep him company.

Before long, Shawn found himself in his old bedroom for only the third, maybe fourth, time in fifteen years. Still, nothing about it had changed in all those years. Shawn wondered why his dad kept it that way. He could have reutilized it for anything, but he didn't. He wondered if becoming a grandfather might inspire him to redecorate…swap out the blue and dinosaurs for pink and butterflies. Shawn began to shuffle through his old record albums, looking for something he felt like listening to, when he heard the front door open and close and then a whistling to the theme song from M.A.S.H. Shawn put on his favorite Tears for Fears album and began bouncing a Superball off the wall. About a minute later, the bedroom door was suddenly kicked open and Shawn saw the barrel of a gun pointed at him.

"Really?" he said sarcastically to his father.

"Dammit, Shawn!," said Henry angrily. "What are you doing here?! You oughtta know better than to sneak in here like that! I thought you were a burglar."

"A burglar who plays old 80's albums while ransacking your house? Come on Dad. I know you are smarter than that."

"Don't argue with me, kid. You could have gotten yourself shot."

"Dude, are you listening to yourself? What kind of person can't visit their childhood home without the risk of getting shot?"

"The child of a cop, that's who," said Henry.

"_Retired _cop," Shawn corrected him, "and I seriously hope Jules doesn't go pulling a gun on our kid when she comes to visit thirty years from now."

Henry sighed, "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Geez, dad. It's good to see you too….and I came here just to…reminisce. Can't a guy hang out in his boyhood room and reminisce?"

"Sure," said Henry. "But he should call his dad first." Henry sat on the bed next to Shawn who had turned his attention back to the Superball he was still bouncing. "What's on your mind, kid?"

"There. That," said Shawn. "You calling me 'kid'. Why do you do that?"

"Because you're my kid. I was pretty sure you knew that."

"No, I mean, why do you _still _call me that? I'm 35 years old. I'm not a kid anymore. Am I _that _irresponsible? _That _untrustworthy that my own father can't treat me like an adult?" Henry was taken aback when Shawn's voice began to raise and he stood up pacing around the room. "God! What is this?" he said, waving his arms around the room. "Why is all of this stuff still here? I mean…do you expect that someday I am just going to give up on adulthood and come running back here to stay in this room and listen to my old albums and play with my old army men and Shrinkidinks all day?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, son! You've got the wrong idea! I don't think that. I don't….I don't know why this is still here…maybe it's just me trying to hold onto the past, or something…I don't know. But the last thing I want to do is hold you back. I know I've been… tough on you over the years…"

"You think?!" said Shawn harshly.

"…but I never meant to make you feel like you could never grow up…if I did, I'm truly sorry." Henry sighed and put his head in his hands. Shawn just shook his head and paced a little more before sitting back on the bed, grabbing his beer from the nightstand, and taking a big swig.

"Dad? How am I going to do this…?" his voice no longer angry, but worried.

"Do what, Shawn?"

"Be a father…and a husband," he said avoiding eye contact. Shawn usually avoided serious conversations like the plague, especially serious conversations with his dad, but he had to get everything off his chest. "I…I love Juliet with all my heart, and…I love our daughter. I can't even imagine life without them. But somehow…I just keep thinking that at some point I am going to fail them. Seriously, why did she choose me? I'm not good enough for her. She deserves so much better."

"Shawn…again, I'm really sorry if how I've treated you has made you feel like you are not good enough, but please listen to me when I tell you that you are…you are good enough. If you weren't Juliet wouldn't have chosen you…"

"But Dad, what if I…"

"Let me finish," said Henry cutting off his son and holding up his hand. "As I told you before, you probably _are _going to fail them at one point or another, but that's normal. God! Look at how much I've failed you! No one is perfect. But you love her…you love both of them. Just keep loving them and in the long run, you won't fail them."

Shawn nodded and took in his dad's words. He looked at his feet and bounced the ball a few more times.

"I'll…uh…leave you to your thoughts…and your bouncy ball," said Henry, hefting himself off the bed and leaving the room.

Shawn simply nodded without looking away from his feet or saying a word. Right before Henry shut the door, Shawn caught his attention. "Dad?"

"What is it, son?"

"You didn't fail me."

===Pineapple===

After finally cooling off, Shawn arrived at the SBPD to pick up Juliet and head out to Maplewood, as planned. He expected to find her sitting at her desk, but was surprised to see her chair empty. Shawn stopped officer McIntyre who was walking by.

"Hey Macks? You seen Jules?" McIntyre simply pointed at the Chief's office. The door was closed but he could see that Lassiter, McNab, and Juliet were inside with the Chief, and unexpectedly they were conversing with Dr. Franklin from Maplewood. Shawn invited himself inside.

"Spencer," said Chief Vick. "Come in, and close the door behind you." Juliet took Shawn's hand and pulled him close to her.

"Jules? What's wrong? I thought we were supposed to be leaving for Maplewood now. What's Dr. Franklin doing here?" Juliet didn't answer but nodded towards the Chief, indicating that Shawn should pay attention.

"We have a bit of situation," said Chief Vick addressing Shawn. "It appears that our suspect, Miss Taylor Zane…has gone missing?"

* * *

**Unlike Henry's hair...the plot thickens.**

**How have I gotten to Chapter 9 already and they still haven't made it to the New Years Eve Gala? Next chapter, I promise.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Whew! This is a long one. I got a little carried away.**

**Thanks for all the reviews BTW. Keep 'em coming!**

* * *

The SBPD led a citywide manhunt for Taylor Zane, but they still had no clue where she was. She didn't go home to her mother, and just in case Mrs. Zane lied about not having seen her daughter, Lassiter grilled her. He even used the polygraph, but had to conclude that she was genuinely distraught over her missing daughter and had not had contact with her since two days before her disappearance. There was no sign that Taylor had contacted any other family members or old friends. No sightings of her were reported nearby, or at hospitals, airports, train stations…anywhere someone who was missing or on the run might have ended up. Police Departments in neighboring towns and cities were informed to keep an eye out for her, but so far nothing had turned up. She was gone, apparently disappeared from the face of the earth.

"So far there haven't been any other murders reported anywhere with a similar MO to the Bundy and Holden deaths." explained McNab to Shawn and Juliet. The three of them were having lunch in the conference room along with Lassiter. McNab took a mountainous sandwich from a brown paper bag labeled 'Busby.' The name was scrawled inside a heart in red Sharpie, obviously Francie's doing. Lassiter took a plastic container from his plain paper bag and opened it to reveal a perfectly arranged sandwich with exactly five baby carrots and five pieces of celery lined up in perfect rows next to it. Shawn and Juliet shared Chinese take-out from a collection of Styrofoam containers. "…so, wherever she is," McNab continued, "she is probably laying low, not killing people."

"OR, she could be planning her next attack," suggested Lassiter purposely trying to belittle McNab with his statement.

"Carlton…" said Juliet sternly so as to reprimand his attitude. "Who would she need to go after now, anyway? …IF, she actually committed the first two murders in the first place," she added. "We still don't even know if she did it, or whether she ran away herself or was kidnapped. If she didn't do it, chances are she may have known who did, which would be a motive for kidnapping her."

"Hmmm…" said Shawn through a mouthful of Kung Pow Chicken in that high pitched tone he used when he was about to disagree. Juliet knew he was set on the theory that Taylor committed the murders, and he knew that she didn't totally agree with him. Juliet was leaning towards the 'Taylor is a victim' theory, and didn't want to believe she would have committed the murders. Plus she had a hard time believing that Taylor could have set up those traps during brief escapes from the hospital and from the engineering expertise that Alice _may have _taught her. It just seemed a little far-fetched to her despite all of the crazy things she had seen over the years. She gave Shawn a disapproving look that she knew was having an increasing effectiveness in getting him to shut his mouth as she neared the end of her pregnancy. Shawn chewed slowly and swallowed without uttering another word.

Shawn decided it was time to change the subject. "So Lassie-face…_Busby_," he said looking at Lassiter then throwing a glance a Buzz's lunch bag, "you guys going to this Policemen's Ball tonight?

"It's not a ball!" shouted Lassiter.

"It's totally a ball," Shawn said. "Got your dancing shoes ready?," he asked everyone. "Gonna do a little bit-o 'Footloose'…maybe some 'Dirty Dancing'...'Stomp the Yard'? Help me out, what are some other good dancing movies?"

"Flashdance!" said Juliet.

"Good one, Jules!"

"Uh…Save the Last Dance?" suggested Buzz.

"Um…yeah, sure…I _guess_…," said Shawn.

"Center Stage, maybe?" Juliet suggested, not confident with her suggestion.

"Isn't that a ballet movie?" asked Shawn. Juliet shrugged unable to come up with anything better.

"Ooo! Riverdance!" exclaimed Buzz.

"I…don't think that's a movie, Buzz…but sure, if we want to Riverdance tonight, I suppose that could be fun." Shawn contemplated. "Lassiturd, you're no help over there. Got any suggestions?"

"Billy Elliot," he stated nonchalantly, without taking his eyes from the newspaper he was reading.

"Yeah, sure. Billy Elliot," said Shawn sarcastically.

"Francie and I will definitely be there with our dancing shoes on," stated Buzz happily, his pearly whites flashing. "We've been looking forward to this for weeks."

"How 'bout you Lassie?" asked Shawn.

"You heard the Chief last week. Marlowe and I will be there, whether we like it or not," he said.

"Oh come on, Carlton. I'm sure Marlowe will love it. You'll have fun!" Juliet encouraged him. "Shawn and I are even going even though I am clearly in no condition to dance…well, maybe a slow dance or two," she added when she saw Shawn's lower lip curl outward. His lip retracted at the mention of a slow dance.

"Well," said Shawn, standing up and tossing his empty food containers in the trash. "It's time to for Jules and me to go pick up my chocolate brown side-kick, his exotic girlfriend, and her baby from another daddy at the airport. Thank God Gus is finally coming home! I've been having some serious Magic Head withdrawal the last few days. My psychic senses are all wonky and back-assward without him."

"Actually, Shawn, do you think you could drop me off at home first," Juliet asked with those pleading puppy-like eyes that Shawn couldn't resist. "I've been feeling all tired and achy today and I'd like to rest up a bit before tonight."

"Of course, sweetheart," said Shawn, his voice becoming soft and sweet and his fingers gently stroking her cheeks and brushing her hair behind her ears. Lassiter made a gagging sound and announced that he had to leave the room. He always hated seeing the couple getting all lovey dovey. McNab followed too, not wanting to encroach on an intimate moment. Shawn looked closer into his wife's eyes and could now see the deep level of exhaustion and discomfort that were behind them. He wondered whether she wasn't letting on just how bad she was feeling. "Are you sure you really want to go tonight?" he asked.

"Yes, of course I do!" she said. "Why wouldn't I want to go?"

"I just thought you might not be feeling up to it…and I don't want you to overexert yourself."

"Shawn," she said impatiently, "What did I say about driving me nuts?"

"That you don't want to turn into pistachios?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I'll be fine. It's just dinner and music. I won't even get on the dance floor. Not even for a slow dance if that makes you happy."

"What about cashews? Macademias? Peanuts?" Shawn argued. "Pistachios are no good for you to turn into anyway. Apparently, they _dance_! Gangnam Style! Have you seen those commercials?"

Juliet chuckled and shook her head. "I'll take peanuts."

"Really?!" asked Shawn, surprised she had given in

".…since, technically they are not nuts," she finished. "No more arguing, Shawn. In about three weeks we are going to begin a new phase of our life where nights out like this are going to be a rarity. We might as well go out and have a good time while we still can. I promise you, I will be feeling better after a nice nap. Plus, the Rose Hill Mansion is not too far from home. We can always leave early if I'm not feeling well."

"Oookaaay…whatever you say, my lovable little fluffmuffin…"

"Fluffmuffin?!" exclaimed Juliet in revulsion.

"Okay. Fluffmuffin.. No good. Check. I'll keep thinking." Shawn leaned forward and touched his forehead to Juliet's. He took her head in both hands and kissed her ever so softly on her lips. "Let's go, sweetheart."

~~~Pineapple~~~

The Rose Hill Mansion stood regally at the top of a hill. Once the residence of an Industrial Revolution era business tycoon, it was now a popular venue for weddings, conferences, and other major events. Tonight it was hosting the first of hopefully many New Year's Eve Galas to benefit the SBPD.

Shawn, Juliet, Gus, and Rachael arrived in Shawn's new car. They pulled up to the front entrance and the valet took Shawn's keys. Shawn thanked him and tipped him with a stick of Fruit Stripe Gum, which the valet held in his flat hand and looked upon sadly. When Shawn turned away from the valet to help Juliet out of the passenger seat, reveling in her beauty that was accented by a shiny blue dress which perfectly matched the color of her eyes, Gus placed a bill on top of the slice of gum, apologizing for his friend's impropriety.

"Aww, man, I gave him my last orange one," said Shawn examining his package of gum. Juliet had to grab his arm and position him towards the door to keep him from going back for it.

The foursome stepped inside the majestic home, to see a spectacular curving staircase before them and followed the crowd of partygoers to the ballroom on the left. The room had a Victorian feel to it. The white wallpaper that covered the walls had an elegant floral design and the entire room was framed in intricately carved and gilded mahogany. The large narrow windows were dressed in flowing red velvet curtains with gold trim that matched the much larger curtains framing a lighted stage. In the center of the room, just in front of the stage, was a polished hardwood dance floor underneath an enormous and elaborate crystal chandelier. The rest of the room surrounding the dance floor was speckled with round tables covered in deep blue tablecloths and adorned with lit candle centerpieces.

The couples' gazes panned the room until Gus spotted a table where Lassiter, Marlowe, Chief Vick, and her husband Richard were already seated. He pointed it out to Shawn and they went to join their friends. They were joined shortly after by Buzz and Francie, as well as Woody, and much to Lassiter's dismay Marlowe's parole officer Ursula. The entire group filled the large round table and started chattering much like everyone else in the room.

Shawn addressed Rachael to ask about Gus's visit. "So Rach? Did Gussy behave himself for your parents?"

"He was a perfect gentleman, and they loved him," said Rachael.

Gus pulled on his collar with two fingers uncomfortably. "Rachael is just being nice. I'm not so sure they liked me that much…" he said.

"Why? What happened?" asked Shawn. "Did Rachael's dad hook you up to a lie detector? Did you break her sister's nose with a volleyball?"

"I don't have sister," said Rachael.

"Did you break Rachael's dead grandmother's urn with a Champagne cork, Gus?" He leaned across Gus and whispered to Rachael. "It wouldn't be the first time." Rachael just shook her head no.

"No, Shawn!" said Gus sternly.

"O God! Gus? You didn't milk their cat?!" said Shawn in a mocked horrified voice.

"What? No! That's the plot of _Meet the Parents_, Shawn, and you know it."

"I've never seen that movie," said Shawn.

"Yes you have. We watched it that summer after Jamie Needlemyer's Fourth of July party."

"I don't remember that."

"Suck it, Shawn! You do too!" Gus clicked his tongue and shook his head from side to side. "Anyway, nothing happened. I just got the impression that they didn't like me that much."

"Gus, that's not true," Rachael defended. "They were just being protective of me. That's the way they are. You'll see that my family is a lot of fun once they get to know you."

"Yes, Gus, you'll see," added Shawn, as if he knew. "Anyway, tell me what else you did in London. Did you visit Big Bob?"

"I think you mean 'Big Ben'?" corrected Gus.

"No Gus, 'Big Ben' is that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Romitsquirgle." Shawn stated with a chuckle that suggested Gus had no idea what he was talking about.

"Ben Roethlisberger is the quarterback called 'Big Ben,' said Gus. "But the more famous 'Big Ben' is the London clock tower and yes we visited it."

"Did you go to the Louvre?" Shawn said 'Louvre' with an unidentifiable accent

"That's in Paris, Shawn."

"Alright fine, did you use words like 'lift,' 'pram,' and 'inconcievable!' ?" He used his best (but still horrible) English accent and shouted the last word _Princess Bride_-style.

"I can't do this with you right now," said Gus finally. "Rachael would you like to accompany me to the bar?" Gus was clearly getting agitated with Shawn's incessant questions and wanted a few moments alone with his girlfriend. However, Shawn too decided to make a trip to the bar.

"You coming too, sweetheart?" he asked Juliet. "You've been quiet over here. Everything ok?"

"Yes, just taking everything in," she answered. Juliet told Shawn she preferred to stay seated and asked him to bring her a sparkling grape juice. Sometime during all of the discussion about meeting parents and visiting London, the rest of the table had gotten up to mingle, leaving Juliet sitting alone on the opposite side of the table as Woody and Ursula who were engrossed in some heavy flirting making Juliet feel incredibly awkward. She looked around the room uncomfortably and tapped her finger on the table, hoping that Shawn would be back soon.

"If it isn't Detective Juliet O'Hara?" said a familiar voice suddenly behind her. She turned her head to see a tall handsome dark-haired man with thick eyebrows and ridiculously dark lashes.

"Declan?" she said a little nervously. She hadn't seen her ex-boyfriend since she cancelled their trip to Italy, and she never told him the reason she stayed behind. "Wha…What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I am one of the department's top contributors," he state matter-of-factly. Juliet should have guessed, knowing that he was a billionaire and all. "Why are you, the most stunning woman in the room, sitting here all by yourself?" he questioned gently. Juliet got the impression that his 'finding her' in the ballroom was not by accident. He was probably hoping she would be here even before he sent in his RSVP.

"I…uh…" she started. He obviously hadn't noticed so she went ahead and hoisted herself out of her seat. As she stood his eyes drifted from hers down to her stomach.

"Wow…uh…Juliet, you're…?" His manly charm immediately diminished into something closer to embarrassment and he didn't need to complete his sentence, as Juliet was already nodding and lightly rubbing her belly. "And…you're…?" he continued, his eyes resting on her wedding ring. She nodded and looked at her ring to confirm what was already obvious. "Well…I guess congratulations are in order," he said politely, although Juliet could hear a bit of disappointment behind his words. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"That would be me," said Shawn coming up behind Juliet with drinks in hand. He put an arm around her shoulders so that her glass was positioned in front of her chest and she took it, allowing his free hand to pull her closer to him. Declan didn't necessarily look surprised, but a sense of realization showed on his face. It seemed he finally understood why Juliet had suddenly cancelled their trip and broken up with him. He was a smart enough man to see that Shawn and Juliet had feelings for each other, but it was a little disheartening to think that it was his failed relationship with Juliet that finally pushed the two together. At the same time, he was probably glad to know that it wasn't just something about him. "Declan. Rand," said Shawn. "How goes it? How's my buddy Curt?"

"Good and good," said Declan. "I can't complain. I can see things are going very well for you."

"Yes. Yes it is," said Shawn. He pulled Juliet even closer and kissed her softly on the temple. Juliet blushed a little. She knew that Shawn couldn't help but show off in front of Declan, so she didn't call him out on it.

"Ok, well, I've got some more mingling to do, so…" Declan said uncomfortably, "so, I'll catch you guys later."

"Bye Declan," said Juliet.

"Bye Dec," said Shawn. "Don't go far. We'll have to catch up." His volume increased at Declan walked away.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course," said Declan turning around just long enough to speak and trudging off.

"Well, that was awkward," said Shawn. Juliet nodded in agreement and they took their seats again.

###Pineapple###

Eventually everyone made it back to their seats. The soft music that had been playing in the background stopped, and everyone was called to attention by the mayor himself, a man name Voltz who had replaced Swaggerty. Speeches were made, commendations were given, impressive crime-solving statistics were noted which Shawn was sure he was mostly responsible for, and finally dinner was served. Part way through dinner, Shawn stopped in the middle of relentlessly teasing Gus again (he had to make up for lost time), when he heard Marlowe asking Juliet if she was ok. Shawn saw that Juliet had her eyes closed and was taking deliberate breaths in that all too familiar way that she had been every night that week.

"I'm fine," she said as she relaxed a bit. "I've been getting these occasionally all week. The doctor says it's normal." Marlowe's eyes widened with a hint of apprehension.

"They are just those Higgs-Boson contractions," said Shawn. "They're not real."

"Higgs Boson is an elementary particle recently discovered by physicists, Shawn," interrupted Gus. He never could resist correcting his friend's errors.

"I thought that was the uh…Megalodon?" asked Shawn trying to push Gus's buttons.

"That's an extinct species of shark," Gus corrected.

Juliet didn't have the patience for their squabbling right now and interrupted. "For the last time, they're called Braxton-Hicks. And they are very real."

"Does it hurt?" asked Marlowe curiously.

"A little, but it's mostly just uncomfortable," Juliet answered.

"Jules, isn't it a little early in the evening for those?" Shawn asked nervously. "They usually don't start until after midnight."

"I don't think it's an exact science, Shawn," she answered, getting tired of his worrying again. "It's probably just from all the activity today…stress over the case, or whatever." She figured it wasn't worth mentioning that this was the fourth contraction she had had since the day started. She was sure it was only stress-induced. She was set on focusing on having a good time tonight and was sure she'd start to feel better as soon as she calmed down. However, after another hour, dessert, and the start of a long evening of dancing, Juliet was still feeling uncomfortable, maybe even more than usual and finally confessed to Shawn that she was miserable and wanted to go home.

"Yeah, sure thing sweetheart," he frowned. "Let me just find Gus and let him know we are leaving. He's going to have to arrange for another ride home."

"Alright, I have to make a stop at the bathroom first anyway," said Juliet.

"We'll go with her," said Rachael while she was coming back from the dance floor with Marlowe. "We were on our way there anyway."

Shawn shook his head and shrugged. He would never understand why women always felt the need to go to the bathroom in packs. But whatever, he was glad Juliet wouldn't be alone.

&&&Pineapple&&&

Juliet finished her business and exited the stall. She hobbled over to the sink and while washing her hands realized how tired and pale she looked in the mirror. It was then that she wondered whether the way she was feeling _was _totally normal. Suddenly she was overcome with an intense pain in her abdomen. It felt much like the contractions she had been getting but ten times stronger and it made her yelp and clutch onto the counter to stabilize herself. Rachael and Marlowe flushed and burst out of their stalls when they heard her cry.

"Juliet, are you ok?" Rachael asked. Marlowe backed up, seemingly unsure how to react, but Rachael approached while Juliet's eyes looked frightfully at the ground below her feet. Rachael followed her gaze.

"Oh my God, Juliet, your water broke!" Rachael nearly panicked, but caught herself and remained calm. Marlowe was still paralyzed in the corner. Rachael wrapped Juliet's coat around her helped her out of the bathroom. "It's ok. Don't panic. Come on, let's go find Shawn," she said.

They found him back at the table. He was entertaining an older couple with the story of how Lassiter was dubbed with the name Detective Dipstick, when he turned and saw Rachael leading a very distressed looking Juliet to him. He stopped in the middle of the story without an explanation, leaving the older couple hanging, and sprinted to his wife. Before he could say a word, Rachael explained. "She's officially gone into labor. It's time to take her to the hospital."

"Yeah. Yeah. Ok," said Shawn, trying as hard as he could to keep himself calm. "Alright, Jules. We're ready for this. We've talked about this. We…uh…Oh my God! The baby is coming!" Shawn was freaking out, which didn't help Juliet who was suddenly being hit with another excruciating contraction.

Gus stepped in. "Shawn, chill out. I'll drive you guys."

"Oh…Thanks Buddy!" Shawn started grabbing their things and tossed his keys to Gus. He replaced Rachael at Juliet's side so that she could gather her things. They took their first step away from the table when suddenly all of the lights flickered and went out. They heard a screeching like a microphone interfering with a speaker and the lights came back on. A gravelly voice, altered by electronic voice modification, echoed through the house from some unseen loudspeakers.

"Hello, Santa Barbara Police Department. So glad you could all make it out tonight. It was even a better turn out than I hoped for."

Everyone was looking all over the room, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. The Chief bore a terrified expression. She knew this wasn't supposed to be happening.

The voice continued. Its words were pleasant but had a sinister tone behind them. "We are going to have a lot of fun tonight. I've got plenty of surprises in store for all of you, and after that, we are going to ring in the New Year with a big BANG!" The whole room jumped and some gasped as the voice shouted the word 'BANG' and a squeal of microphone interference followed. "Believe me," it said, "nobody wants to miss this. And just so I'm sure that nobody does miss it, I am going to make sure that none of you are going ANYWHERE!" Once again, the shouting startled the room and this time gasps continued as a series of clanging sounds resounded from various points around the mansion.

"Hey! What is that?! What do you mean, we're not going anywhere?!" Lassiter shouted into the air.

There was no answer.

"What does that mean, Shawn?" Juliet whimpered.

"The windows are barred!" shouted a man from across the room.

"Oh, no…" moaned Shawn. "Wait here a sec, sweetie." Shawn took off towards the main door, Lassiter and McNab following, while a slew of police officers ran to other entrances in other parts of the house. Shawn tried to open the door. He jiggled it and kicked it with all his might, but it wouldn't budge. Even several officers couldn't open it. Shooting at it would have done no good on the solid metal. A number of other officers returned to the main hall announcing that various other entrances were barred.

"Oh, no…Oh, God no!" If Shawn was in panic mode before, he didn't know what to call what he was experiencing now. This time it was him shouting aimlessly into the air.

"Hey! You! Whoever you are! You have to let us out, now!" he begged. "Please!"

There was only silence.

* * *

**Dun! Dun! Dun!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Another chapter for your reading pleasure. There should be about 2 to 4 more after this.**

**Hope you like it.**

* * *

"Juliet, just breathe through it," said Gus using his deep breathing expertise from when he used to cover several birthing centers. "Hee Hee, Hooo. Hee Hee, Hooo," he imitated.

"I know how to breathe, Gus!" Juliet snapped. Gus swiftly pulled his hand from Juliet's back and backed away, as if she was a growling dog. He'd never seen her snap at him like that before. The fire in her eyes was scary.

Shawn came running back to their table where Juliet was now seated again and kneeled beside her. He took her hand and allowed her to squeeze until the contraction was over. "They're really hurting now?" he asked.

She snapped again. "You think?!"

Shawn, too, was surprised by her harsh response and looked at Gus in disbelief, who only shook his head and shrugged.

"Shawn, what's happening? Please tell me we can out of here," Juliet pleaded.

"Jules," said Shawn carefully, and Juliet could tell from the quality of his voice that he was about to give her bad news and started shaking her head anxiously. Shawn tried to explain their situation in as calm a voice as was possible in his current state of dread. "Jules…all of the doors and windows are blocked. Lassiter and the other officers are still looking for a way out, but…"

"No. No. No," Juliet whimpered still shaking her head as if begging Shawn not to complete his sentence.

Shawn took both of her hands between his and squeezed them. "but…it seems that we are stuck where we are….for now."

Juliet continued her "No's" but breaking into sobs this time. "No, Shawn! That's not acceptable. We have to get out of here. I am not having this baby right here!"

"I know, sweetheart….and I promise you, I am going to do everything I can possibly do to get us out of here so that doesn't happen." Shawn kissed her forehead and stood up. "You just sit tight for a little bit and I will work on getting us out of here."

"Shawn, no don't leave me!" she begged, grabbing his hand.

"I have to sweetheart. If we want to get out of here in time, I have to help. You won't be alone. Rachael is here, and Marlowe and Francie, not to mention Woody and Ursula." Shawn glanced at the coroner and parole officer who were making out. "Ok, just Rachael, Marlowe, and Francie, and I will be back to check on you first chance I get."

"O…K…" Juliet said reluctantly. "Just don't be gone long."

Shawn kissed Juliet's hand and went along with Gus to join the group of officers that was forming around the Chief. Shawn positioned himself to Lassiter's right and the stern looking detective glanced at his least favorite psychic consultant and he knew from Shawn's pale complexion and lack of goofy grin and inappropriately timed quip that something was up….something serious, and it surely involved Juliet. He didn't know that Juliet was in labor but had seen her looking uncomfortable earlier, and could easily come to that conclusion. He resolved to catch this son-of-a-bitch and get his partner out of here in record time.

"Ok, officers," began the Chief. "I don't know who this bastard is or what this is all about, but we are not going to let him get away with it. Fortunately, we have the benefit of having three quarters of the police force here, and every one of us is going to be put to good use."

"Chief Vick," spoke the voice of Declan Rand as he worked his way through the crowd. "I'd like to offer my criminal profiling services to use at your disposal." For once, Shawn was thankful that the ever so annoying form of that man with the ridiculous name was present. Fraud though he was, he was good at what he did.

"Thank you Mr. Rand," said the Chief, "Your expertise will be valuable. Now, Dobson, I need you to radio to the station and inform the officers on duty of our situation…have them call in S.W.A.T…."she was interrupted by Dobson.

"Chief…uh…the radios aren't working."

The Chief looked at him incredulously. "What do you mean, Dobson? You didn't break your radio again…?"

"No. Not just mine, all of them."

"All of them?" She looked around at the other officers who were nodding and holding their radios. "Cell phones…?" she asked. Everyone pulled out their phones.

"No signal," said Lassiter and the rest of the officers agreed.

"Son of a bitch!" cursed the Chief. "O.K, so we are on our own…but we've still got our finest here. Look, we know this bastard is here somewhere in this house, so I am going to divide all of you up into search parties to weed him out. She sent all of the men in blue (well, currently they were wearing a combination of tuxedos and dress suits) in different directions and then turned to her head detective and go-to team. Alright, Lassiter and McNab, you take Declan. Address everyone and tell them that no one is to leave this ballroom for any reason whatsoever, then interview as many of them as you can, just in case the culprit is one of the party guests. I'll take Spencer and Guster and we'll interview the staff." She saw Shawn pacing and pulling his hair with his fingers, noting that it was out of character for him, even in the most dangerous of situations. "Shawn." She spoke his first name and caught his terrified gaze. "What is it?"

"Juliet!" he squealed. The Chief looked across to see the room to see her blonde junior detective hunched over in her seat and squeezing Rachael's hand as she struggled through another contraction.

"Oh, God!" she said. "She walked swiftly over to where Juliet was sitting and kneeled beside her. "Juliet, just hang in there. I promise I'll get us out of here." Juliet nodded but was too busy concentrating on her breathing to answer. The Chief addressed her companions. "Dr. Jennifer Lesser," she said. "She's an OB-GYN. She's here somewhere. Find her." The women nodded, and Francie and Marlowe started walking the room and calling for Dr. Lesser. The chief gave Juliet a comforting pat on the shoulder and went to start the search.

$$$Pineapple$$$

"Why did you pick Shawn and me to go with you?" Gus asked Chief Vick. Shawn was letting Gus do the talking since he was too frazzled to craft words into sentences at the moment.

"I was thinking that whoever is responsible must have had access to this building for an extended period of time to be able to set this up, so it could only be one of the staff. We are going to start with the manager and then question everyone working here tonight, and Shawn is going to read all of them."

Shawn stopped in his tracks. "Look Chief, I appreciate your confidence in me, but I have to warn you that my psychic senses are a little wonky right now. I'm not sure how well I am going to be able to read anyone."

"Do you want to get your wife and daughter out of here safely, or not, Spencer?" the Chief demanded.

"Of course I do, but…"

"Shawn, I know this is hard for you, but I promise that Juliet is in good hands. She and the baby are going to be ok. Now, I need you to focus. Lives are at stake."

"Lives?" Gus gulped.

"Yes, Mr. Guster, what do you think that psycho meant when he said we were going to ring in the New Year with a 'bang'?"

Gus was speechless when he came to the realization that he and everyone he cared about might die tonight. Shawn leaned into his best friend. "Hey buddy, I need you to stay strong for me ok. I'm in a full on freak-out right now…and not the good kind, so one of us needs to be sane." Gus nodded anxiously. "Hey, remember the Yin case…how you kept it light and entertaining?" Gus responded that he did. "Well I need_ that _Gus now. Let that Gus come out and play. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, sure thing, man. Keep it light. I can do that." Gus took a deep breath and gained his composure. "So, how 'bout them Thunderbirds, Yo? Keeping it tiiiight. Kickin' that pigskin! 40 yards! In the end zone! Whaaattt?!"

Chief Vick looked at Gus in disbelief, "Oooh…not this again, Guster."

"What Thunderbirds you talking about, maaann? They haven't won a game since Vlad kicked the bucket with his bare foot." For the first time since Juliet returned from the restroom Shawn cracked a smile…a tiny one, but a smile nonetheless. When the Chief turned and trudged forward, waving for them to follow, Shawn winked at his buddy and mouthed the phrase, "Thank you!"

After a bit of searching and asking questions, they located the head of the Rose Hill Mansion staff in the kitchen, who along with several of the cooks and wait staff appeared very flustered. The staff head wore a black tux with bow tie and white gloves. He reminded Shawn of the butler from '_Clue.'_

"Mr. Denial? Karen Vick, Chief of Police," she said flashing her badge.

"Dude's name is _Denial_?" whispered Shawn to Gus, who the Chief introduced next.

"These are my colleagues, psychic detective Shawn Spencer, and his partner…"

"Marvin Gayer," interrupted Gus, taking the initiative to give himself a stupid nickname for Shawn's benefit, and holding out his hand to shake Mr. Denial's. "…but, you can call me the King of Looove. You might recognize my smooth vocals from my one-hit wonder, _Let's Get it On, Again." _He crooned the title of the bogus song.

The Chief groaned in annoyance. "His name is Burton Guster, and you can just ignore him. Mr. Denial, I need to ask you whether you have accounted for the whereabouts of all of your staff."

"That's easier said than done, Chief," answered Mr. Denial. "I've got all of my kitchen staff right here, and a few of our wait staff, but a number of them are still in the ballroom along with the bartender. I have someone rounding up the maintenance crew right now, but I'm afraid our valets have been locked outside."

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Denial?" Shawn asked him. "I mean, absolutely, 100% sure….no doubts whatsoever?"

The joke surprisingly went over Mr. Denial's head. "Yes, what are you implying, sir?"

"Oh, I'm not implying anything. I just want to make perfectly sure that you are not in _deni…_"

"Sir," the Chief interrupted swiftly. "I am going to need you to have your entire staff gather in the ballroom with the guests. Keep them together and send them one at time to me and my colleagues for questioning. You'll be the first we want to talk to. Make whatever arrangements you need and meet us back here in five minutes, no more."

"Yes, yes, certainly," said Mr. Denial.

As soon as Mr. Denial and all of the staff that were in the kitchen exited the room, the Chief was about to yell at Gus for his antics, but when she saw that Shawn's demeanor had lightened significantly, she realized there was a purpose for it and decided to keep quiet.

Exactly five minutes later, Mr. Denial returned, and they shot a barrage of questions at him…questions about himself, his actions that day, about his staff – how many were there and who was responsible for what? How long had they been working for him? Were there any new hires? Did any of them display inappropriate or suspicious behavior? – and more of the like. In the end, they decided the Mr. Denial had no knowledge of the perpetrator and had narrowed down their suspects to a few new hires and one long time employee who had been acting suspiciously, or otherwise whose whereabouts hadn't been accounted for yet. Some progress was good but they clearly had a long night ahead of them.

"How much time left until midnight, Gus," asked Shawn.

"Gus repressed to urge to quip about Shawn never wearing a watch and looked at his own. "It's still only 9:00 PM. We have three hours."

"Have I ever solved a case in three hours, Gus?"

"Well, there was that case with Mrs. Jablonski's missing poodle…and the stolen computers. That one only took you three seconds."

"…any _real _cases, though?"

Gus contemplated for a few moments, but nothing came to mind. "There must have been something…" he said. Shawn wasn't encouraged though.

(((Pineapple)))

Marlowe managed to track down Dr. Lesser, who was ready and willing to help Juliet.

"Ok, Mrs. Spencer. Can I call you Juliet?" she asked. Juliet nodded while she muffled a groan. The contractions were rapidly getting more painful and closer together. "I understand this is your first baby. I know it's scary, especially since we can't get to a hospital right away, but I am here to help you. Everything is going to be ok." Dr. Lesser asked Juliet about what she was feeling specifically and some questions about how her pregnancy had progressed so far. Juliet explained she had had a healthy pregnancy, but that she was three weeks from her due date.

Dr. Lesser smiled in a way that infused calm into everyone around her. Even Juliet settled. "That's good, Juliet. The best thing now is to remain calm. I promise you, there is nothing to worry about. I'm really good at what I do. Also, I want you to know that it is very common for some women to deliver early. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with your baby. My cousin had all four of daughters three to four weeks before her due date, and every one of them was perfect."

"How long do you think it's going to be?" Juliet asked.

"Most women in your current state have a good five to six more hours to go."

"Seriously?" exclaimed Juliet. She couldn't imagine going through this for another five to six more hours.

"You should feel lucky," said Rachael. "I was in labor with Maximus for almost 24 hours." Marlowe gulped nervously from her position about three feet from Juliet.

"I'm going to have to do a proper examination to give a more accurate estimate, though," continued Dr. Lesser. "Is there someplace more private we could go?"

"The Chief said everyone has to stay in the ballroom," said Rachael.

"I think she'll make this one exception," said the doctor.

"This place is a hotel. We should be able to use one of the rooms," said Francie.

"That would be perfect. Why don't you and Marlowe go find the concierge and see if he'll get us a room, while Rachael and I get her ready to…."

Dr. Lesser's words faltered, as did a majority of other voices in the room when they heard the familiar squealing of speaker interference again, and the gravelly voice returned.

"Attention SBPD and guests. Sorry for the delay, but I was busy working on the first of tonight's surprises. Are you all ready to have some fuuuunnnn!" Everyone was either gasping and whispering fearfully to each other or waiting in silent anticipation. "I thought so."

The voice stopped again and was replaced by music that sounded like it was being played from a 1920s phonograph. The music was so cheery, there it was creepy. Suddenly the walls and ceiling began to rumble as if the building was being struck by an earthquake. The enormous crystal chandelier above the dance floor rattled and jingled. A loud cracking noise directed everyone's attention to the chandelier, and people cried out and screamed as they saw several deep crevices formed around its base. Everyone who was sitting on or near the dance floor scrambled to get as far away from it as possible. Luckily, Juliet and her group were already far from it and only watched the scene in horror while the massive lighting fixture broke free of the ceiling and came down with a deafening crash. Glass shattered and flew in all directions. People hid and ducked, but many were still pierced and scraped by shards of crystal. When the clinking rain of sharp glass finally diminished, the music stopped and all was quiet, save for the moans and cries of the injured.

* * *

**Just as an interesting aside, Dr. Lesser is named after my doggie's veterinarian who took such great care of him last week. Mr. Denial is name after a friend of mine whose last name was actually Denial, that is until she got married a couple years ago.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Getting there. Just a couple more chapters.**

**I hope you all watched Tuesday the 17th last night. I know I did!**

* * *

Shawn, Gus, and Chief Vick were finishing up interviewing the last of the suspicious staff that Mr. Denial had suggested. So far it seemed that they were each just lazy, hiding a forbidden affair, or planning to quit their jobs in the near future which accounted for their strange or undesirable behaviors. None of them seemed smart enough to stage an elaborate hostage situation, trapping the entire SBPD, nor did they have a motive to. Their current interviewee was a young bottle-blonde with heavy make-up. She didn't seem to have all of her crayons in the box…or pencils sharpened? What was that saying? But it could have just been her appearance that screamed "Bimbo." She was nervous about something. Shawn could tell from her shifty eyes and the wringing of her hands, but he had yet to figure out what it was. He suspected from the fact that her bag contained a number of the candle centerpieces from the ballroom she was probably just a kleptomaniac. That combined with the fact that it was only her second day on the job told him that she wasn't a likely candidate.

Just as the Chief was telling the girl she was free to go, they heard it….the thunderous crash and screams coming from the ballroom. They didn't waste any time in rushing to see what happened and were met with the scene of the crystal-filled ballroom before them. The Chief's and Gus's faces were filled with shock and despair, but Shawn had little time to notice. All he could think about was Juliet and Maggie and whether they were ok. He immediately ran towards their table and thankfully saw there wasn't a scratch on them, although Juliet was clearly in a lot of pain. As he usually did when Shawn found that Juliet had narrowly escaped a dangerous situation, he hovered over her, inspecting and kissing every part of her body down to the tips of her fingernails.

"Oh, Jules! Thank God! I thought…" said Shawn said frantically. He had no desire to voice the actual horrible thoughts that were going through his head.

"Shawn, I'm ok….very uncomfortable right now…but ok." She reassured him with a gentle stroke on his cheek.

"You must be the daddy," said Dr. Lesser, reaching out her hand to shake his.

Shawn was confused. He had no idea who this woman was or why she was introducing herself. He shook her hand anyway. "Yeah, Shawn Spencer, psychic detective." He had gotten so accustomed to using his title at introductions it was second nature now.

"Oh! You're that psychic guy that's always in the news! You are amazing!" exclaimed Dr. Lesser.

"Yeah, that's me," he said, too frazzled to be interested in boasting about himself at the moment.

"So does that mean this little baby of yours is a psychic too?" Juliet rolled her eyes. She was actually curious to see how Shawn would answer that question, but to her disappointment he didn't give a witty answer.

"I don't….I'm sorry, who are you?" asked Shawn.

"Oh, my apologies," she laughed. "I'm Dr. Jennifer Lesser, OB-GYN. I was told her wife was in labor and I offered my services."

Shawn sighed a tremendous sigh of relief to know that there was a "doctor in the house," as the phrase goes. "Oh…Thank God! Jules, we have a doctor. It's going to be ok!" He was so happy he even hugged Dr. Lesser. Juliet just smiled happily, but her smile quickly faded and she shouted for Shawn to grab her hand.

"Another one is coming…" she groaned and braced herself. Shawn took her hand as asked and she gripped the chair with the other. For next 60 seconds or so Shawn was sure he'd hear the bones in his hand crack. Juliet's grip was so tight her knuckles turned white. This time she was unable to stifle her cries which attracted attention from others who were nearby. "They're getting worse!" she choked out as the contraction subsided.

"We're going to move her to one of the rooms," said Rachael, who was done convincing Gus that she was fine and had her arm around him.

Dr. Lesser, looking a little concerned, said, "Yeah, she needs her privacy and I am going to have to examine her. I think her labor may be progressing a little more quickly than I originally thought."

"What?!" shouted Juliet. "You said five to six hours. What happened to five to six hours?"

"Juliet," the doctor said carefully, "I can't be sure until I take a look, but it's possible this may be happening a little sooner than that."

Shawn was about to ask how soon, when almost simultaneously Francie and Marlowe returned with a key to room 214, and Chief Vick returned from checking out the chandelier situation to call Shawn and Gus to her aid again.

"Well, there were only a few minor injuries. Thankfully no one is in serious conditions," said the Chief. "I spoke to Lassiter and they haven't come up with much either. The search parties haven't found anything so far, but I think our best bet is to just go looking ourselves. There is still at least one member of the staff that hasn't been accounted for, a recent hire named Rose…something. Unless she happened to get locked outside, she's probably hiding somewhere which means she may know something. I need you two to come with me."

"Chief, I don't know if I should…" started Shawn, putting a soothing hand on Juliet's back.

"Shawn, just go," said Juliet looking him in the eye. "If this is really happening so soon, we are going to need to get out of here as soon as possible, and if anyone can find this guy, it's you."

"But, Jul…"

"No arguing Shawn," Juliet grabbed Shawn by the back of the neck and gave him a deep, toe-curling kiss. "Now, go get him!" Shawn couldn't argue after that. "OK, I'll be back before too late. I promise." He put his palm on Juliet's stomach and said, "Hey peanut, you wait for daddy, ok? And don't give your mother a hard time." He squeezed his smiling Juliet's hand one last time before following the Chief and Gus.

***Pineapple***

The upstairs hallways had that eerie historic feeling, like it was still holding the fleeting memories of a long gone past. The halls were dimly lit by wall sconces that added to the mysterious atmosphere. The carpet had a blue, green, and gold Victorian pattern and covered a creaky, uneven wooden floor. Like the ballroom, the walls and ceilings were framed in carved mahogany, with a matching mahogany wainscoting. Wooden bookshelves were built into the walls in various places and filled with a collection of both very old and very new books. It was the kind of place where one expected secret passageways and hidden rooms to be, if only you knew which book to pull or knick-knack to turn.

Once again, the group split up, but this time in twos; Shawn and Gus together, Lassiter and McNab, the Chief and Declan. They would each cover a part of the hallway, meet back in the middle, and then continue to the next floor and repeat. Using the master keys that the concierge had given them, they checked every nook and cranny of every room.

"This place gives me the creeps," said Gus to Shawn while they headed down the east wing of the second floor. "I half expect something to jump out at me every time we enter a new room."

"How can you 'half expect' something?" asked Shawn, while stopping to unlock the next door. "You either expect something or you don't."

"I MEAN that part of me expects something to happen and another part doesn't," explained Gus.

"Which parts, Gus? Your right knee cap expects a goblin to jump out at you, but your pinky toe with the hairy mole doesn't?" They both braced themselves as Shawn swung the door open and flicked on the light. Both of them relaxed when they found the room empty and they entered.

"You know what I mean, Shawn," Gus continued impatiently. "My instincts are telling me to be on guard, even though I know, logically, that nothing is going to jump out at me."

"Ok, I get that, but why specify half? How do you know it's not 3/4th or 5/8th?"

"I don't know, Shawn?!" Gus shook his head as he wandered around the room, looking for anything that might be amiss. The difficulty with searching this hotel was that every room was unique – different colors, décor, arrangement of the furniture – it was hard to tell if anything was out of place.

"Then don't say it's half if you don't know that it is, Gus!" Shawn argued. Besides, do I need to remind you that we are currently looking for a psych-o hostage taker, I'd say the probability of something jumping out at us, is pretty God Damn likely!"

"Shit, Shawn! Way to put your buddy at ease."

"I wasn't trying to put you at ease. There 's nothing in this room," Shawn concluded. "Let's go."

The next few rooms were similarly empty. Many of them held the suitcases and personal items of guests, but all of the people were currently confined to the ballroom. Shawn and Gus made sure to inspect the personal effects for incriminating items and to move every book or decorative item in every room just in case one of them triggered a secret passageway. Most people would have thought their suspicion of secret rooms was a bit ridiculous, but they had seen their share of hidden rooms in their time; the study in Whip Chowderly's bookstore, the underground dungeon at Harrison Yerden's estate, the secret room under Martin's Shoe Repair, the hidden video screens at the Red Balloon Nanny Agency, just to name a few. So far, they hadn't found anything of the kind at Rose Hill Mansion.

The search of the second floor not getting them any closer to finding the guilty party, they returned to the top of the curving staircase where the rest of their group were waiting, and then they continued to the third floor. However, the third floor had much of the same. They were about to head up to the attic next when, for the third time that evening, the loudspeakers sounded again throughout the entire house. At this point everyone knew that this could only mean something bad was about to go down and they prepared themselves for the worst.

"Hello again," said the deep electronic voice. "How did you enjoy my last trick? SMASHING?! Huh? Ha. Ha. Ha. But I kid. Now for something really hot! And when I say hot, I mean HOT!"

"Who are you? Why are you doing this to us?!" Lassiter shouted. But the villain either didn't hear him or didn't care to answer.

Simultaneously Shawn said, "Did you hear that?" and Gus said, "Do you smell that?"

"It smells like gas," said Gus.

"For heaven's sakes! Don't do this to me again," said Lassiter. "It wasn't me!"

The Chief shushed him so she too could focus on what Shawn was hearing; a soft click, click, clicking like an old gas stove starting up. It was coming from somewhere above their heads from what seemed like the wall sconces. She and Shawn shared a knowing glance and shouted at everyone to "Duck!" pulling down whoever was standing next to them by the arm.

Immediately after hitting the ground, a fiery red-orange mass spurt out of the walls above their heads. They all clung to the floor to keep from the blistering heat as the flames hovered over their heads for what seemed like minutes, but was really only two or three seconds. It appeared that only seconds was what it took to scorch the walls with blackness and destroy the framed artwork that now smoldered on the walls. From the looks of it, the flames had erupted at several spots along the hallways, and from the sounds of screams coming from the ballroom; they must have erupted down there too.

The group took off down the stairs to check out the damage and sure enough, the walls were scorched and smoking at almost every point along the way. They had made it to the second floor, when Shawn again heard the clicking. No one else seemed to have noticed. He shouted for everyone to hit the deck, and for good measure tackled as many of them as he could to the ground just in time for the second spurt of flames to erupt over their heads.

"Lassiter, your jacket!" McNab shouted, when the flames were gone and everyone stood up.

Lassiter yelped and ripped his burning suit jacket from his body. He threw it on the ground and stomped on, first with one foot then both, all the while screaming and yelping like a little girl. If it weren't for the horrified screams coming from downstairs, Shawn and Gus would have laughed. But there was no time for making fun of Lassiter right now. As soon as everyone was satisfied that Lassiter was no longer on fire, they bolted down the curvy stairs and into the ballroom.

What they found was absolutely horrific. Unlike themselves, the occupants of the ballroom had no prior warning about the flames that were about to shoot out above them and it appeared a good number of them got caught off guard. Most had burns of some sort on their bodies. Some had really nasty 2nd and 3rd degree burns covering half of their exposed skin, and still some had been burned beyond recognition. Those who had managed to escape either the first or both waves of flames had done so only by launching themselves into the center of the room that was still covered in a blanket of crystal shards, only getting themselves cuts and scrapes instead of burns. Surprisingly Woody seemed to have managed to for the most part escape cuts and burns and was helping the other officers put out the fire that was still engulfing the curtains on the walls, after which he ran around from one lifeless body to the next to see if there was anyone he could help.

"F—k," said Shawn, not believing his eyes. "Thank God Jules wasn't in here," he said to Gus in relief who had to agree the same thing about Rachael. The Chief quickly found her husband, who thankfully had walked away with only minor burns and was currently doing what he could to help the victims. Lassiter and McNab shouted for their wives.

"Marlowe! Marlowe?!" shouted Lassiter in full hysterics.

McNab too shouted for Francie, but with more of a sad, worried, and utterly shocked tone compared to Lassiter's hysterics.

"Guys!" Gus interrupted. "Marlowe and Francie went to help Juliet. They are in room 214."

They both sighed in relief and then made for the hall in an effort to check on their wives, but were stopped by the Chief. "Detectives! Don't forget you have a job to do. I need you here to help keep everyone in line."

Lassiter was about to object, but Shawn and Gus promised to check on them for him. Shawn's worry for his family was back in full force when he realized he had no idea whether the flames had hit any of the hotel rooms. He honestly didn't know whether he was going to find them dead or alive. As he and Gus started back up the curvy staircase, he caught out of the corner of his eye a familiar bottle-blonde head slinking out from the direction of the kitchen area. _What had she been doing down there? She was supposed to be in the ballroom with everyone else. _If he hadn't been in such a hurry to make it to his laboring wife, he would have stopped to question her. But there would be time for that later. Now he had to see to his family.

)()(Pineapple)()(

To Shawn's and Gus's relief, room 214 was untouched by flames. After having run into Marlowe and Francie in the hall who, after hearing the screams, were on their way to find out what happened, they explained about the flames and that their husbands were unharmed. They entered the room where Juliet was on the luxurious queen sized bed with Rachael and Dr. Lesser sitting beside her and coaching her through another contraction. Shawn felt his stomach flip flop when he saw her, tense and red in the face, her hair wet with perspiration. She was struggling to keep her breathing even, while groans and cries escaped her lips. He couldn't even imagine what she was going through right now. He, and apparently Gus too, stood still as a statue until Juliet's moans softened to whimpers and her head flopped back onto the pillow behind while she tried to catch her breath.

Suddenly aware that there was someone else in the room, Juliet turned her head to the side and smiled at Shawn. "Shawn, you're ok!" she exclaimed.

"Of course I am, baby," he said immediately coming over to her. He kneeled next to the bed so that his face was inches from hers and took her hand between both of his. Rachael got up from the bed and wrapped her arms around Gus, relieved to find him in one piece.

"What happened out there?" Juliet asked Shawn.

"Our psycho just decided to heat things up a little, that's all." Shawn didn't see the point in being 100% honest with her at the moment. She didn't need the stress right now.

"More importantly, how are you doing? Is Maggie causing you any trouble?"

"The contractions are coming every few minutes now, and…well let's just say that all of those women are not lying when they say childbirth is the most painful thing a person can endure. I'd give anything for some drugs right now."

"Oh, Jules sweetie, you know I would totally do this for you if I could."

"Ha! You could never handle this Shawn."

"Whaattt?! I'll have you know that when I worked at that character building camp in Albuquerque, I kicked ass at the bed of nails and a pit of hot coals. I even won the award for most pain tolerance."

"No he didn't," Gus interjected from across the room.

"Oh please! You cry when you get a paper cut Shawn," Juliet teased.

"Of course I do!" said Shawn. "Those things hurt worse than childbirth."

"You willing to bet on that?"

"Yes, I think I will!"

"Shawn, you don't want to do that," Rachael cut in. "Speaking from a woman who has experienced childbirth and regularly gets paper cuts, I can tell you that Juliet is going to win this one."

"Even better. I'm always up for a challenge," said Shawn.

"Shawn, it's not really a challenge when there is 0% chance that you are going to win," argued Gus.

"So you're saying there's a chance?" Shawn said excitedly. "Bring it on!"

Gus and Rachael rolled their eyes, while Juliet grunted "Raincheck!" and her grip on Shawn's hand tightened to the point where Shawn was sure his bones did actually crack. The contraction lasted longer than a minute after which Juliet slumped back onto the bed and told Shawn that they were never ever going to have sex again.

"Wow, that bad?" mumbled Shawn. "You win the bet."

"We never made a bet, Shawn," Juliet said out of breath.

"Lucky for me, then, huh?" Shawn's voice was soft and missing the taunting quality now. He used his free hand to wipe the sweat from Juliet's forehead and push her hair behind her ears. "How much longer are we looking at here?" Shawn asked Dr. Lesser.

"She's almost 9 cm now, and judging by how quickly she is progressing, she'll have to start pushing in an hour or two. We are prepared to make contact with emergency response as soon as our phone service is restored, but even if that doesn't happen, we are ready to deliver the baby right here."

"Shawn, I don't want to have the baby here," whimpered Juliet.

"I don't either, honey. Gus, what time is it?" said Shawn, getting serious again.

"It's twenty after ten," he answered. "Shawn…we have less than two hours until…"

"I know, Gus, I know. We should get back out there."

"You can do it, Shawn," Juliet encouraged him. "We are going to be ok. Don't you worry about us."

"Jules, that's like asking me to not watch the Brat Pack marathon on John Hughes's birthday."

"I know sweetheart. Just get the job down and come right back here. Ok?"

"I will. I promise I am not going to miss this, sweetheart. I'll be back here before you can say, 'Windbreaker Go-bots Purple Monkey Lucky Charms.'" He kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand before leaving the room with Gus. Shawn leaned against the door after closing it behind him. He looked ready to freak out again. "Gus…this is too much…I can't…."

"Yes you can, Shawn. I am going to be with you the whole time. We can do this together."

* * *

**Thanks for all of the reviews! I love hearing your thoughts.**


	13. Chapter 13

Due to the disastrous shape of the ballroom, all of the staff and guests were evacuated and moved to hotel rooms, while other larger rooms were converted to makeshift infirmaries. As many of the police force and consultants who were able congregated in the attic. It was a dusty and depressing meeting room, but the most private place they could find. After a swift search for anything suspicious in their dark and creaky abode, and confirmation that that were not being watched or listened to by hidden cameras or bugs, the brainstorming and strategizing began.

The usually uniform-clad SBPD who were now attired in tattered and stained dress pants and shirts (their constricting suit jackets had long ago been removed), were seated on boxes and crates around the perimeter of the spacious attic. McNab was slumped against a diagonal beam, and his temporary partner Lassiter stood stick still and as far away from anything dirty as he possibly could. He was the only one in the room who had managed to maintain any sense of professionalism. If it wasn't for the fact that his suit jacket had been burned to smithereens, he would probably still be wearing it.

Declan stood nearby, seemingly in deep thought. His massive eyebrows scrunched inwards while he pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. When Shawn and Gus finally ascended the rattling staircase to join the rest of the group, the Chief stepped into the center of the room to address her charges. Instead of her usual pantsuit, she was dressed in a deep red evening gown and strappy heels of matching color. The sheen of her gown though, had long been marred by soot and brownish blood stains. Her blonde hair was equally dirty and falling out of its elegant up-do. She pushed a strand of hair from her face and sighed heavily.

"I don't think I need to express to all of you how urgently we need to put an end to this," she said, while everyone nodded in agreement. "Whoever this guy is, he is really good. We've searched this place high and low, questioned everyone, and still haven't gotten any closer to finding him…"

"Chief Vick, if I may say a word…" Declan interrupted.

"Yes, Mr. Rand." She motioned for him to go ahead and speak.

"I've been thinking this…this all speaks to me as something not so much as revenge as I am sure you are thinking…well maybe a touch of revenge…but more so…a message." Chief Vick turned her head in curiosity and everyone's eyes were on Declan as he continued. "The perpetrator wants to say something…to us…to the city…to society as a whole, maybe. Most likely he, or I think more likely _she, _wants to bring our attention to some sort of injustice."

"What makes you think a woman is responsible for this?" Lassiter spurted out.

"Well, aside from the tendency for women to be more sensitive to breaches in justice, the MO. I don't think I have to tell you that this person is some sort of genius, but that isn't what makes me think it's a woman….no. It's the elaborateness of it. I mean…we all know how women are…" The Chief and other female officers scowled while the men began nodding. "I mean that they are rarely straightforward about pointing out when something is bothering them. They skirt around the issue and hope that others will guess correctly what they are thinking. Clearly, this person isn't going to just come out and tell us why he or she is doing all of this. She wants to give us a chance to figure it out for ourselves first and then punish us when we don't get it right." Even the Chief had to admit, begrudgingly, that his explanation of the female mind was pretty close to spot-on.

Shawn, though still pacing nervously, was listening carefully. Again, he had to force himself to admit that he was glad Declan was here. Shawn was a pro at sensing guilt and anxiety and a slew of other emotions based on body language, but the one thing that still baffled him was the human mind. Establishing motive had always been the most difficult part of detective work for him. Declan's insights made up for the one deficit of his. He shook his head violently when the thought suddenly popped into his mind about how unstoppable he and Declan would be if they were a team…if only there wasn't that little matter of jealously and the ever-present need to compete with him. "That's great Dec," he said almost snidely. "Is there anything else you can _glean_...like who it is exactly and where she is hiding in this goddamned forsaken hellhole?"

"I figured that would be more in line with the job description of a psychic," Declan came back, not missing a beat.

"Ouch!" said Shawn. "That kind of hurt my ego a little bit…but honestly, I think it's pretty clear that I wouldn't be on the top of my game when _your ex-girlfriend_ is currently moments away from giving birth to _my_ child."

"Enough!" shouted Chief Vick. "What has gotten into you two?" She turned to Declan. "Mr. Rand, do you have anything else to add or not?"

"Yes, in fact, I do," he said, now avoiding eye contact with Shawn. "Whatever the motive is…it runs deep. My guess is that it stems back to early childhood. To put it in a nutshell, I think we are looking for a young woman, probably twenties or thirties…wickedly smart…deeply troubled, and with some sort of deep-seated sense of anger towards the police force. She probably believes that 'the system' has failed her in an unforgiveable way, and she wants to make the world aware of that fact." The Chief nodded, Lassiter too, trying to make sense of this new information. Shawn had already made sense of it.

"The psychic has something to add," Shawn chimed in. He didn't wait for permission to speak. "I believe we are looking for a blonde…not a real one, mind you…one of those wildly obvious fake blondes, and a recent one at that. In fact, she hasn't been a blonde for more than a day or two, which means she really isn't as dumb as you would think." The Chief glared at him.

"You _didn't_ just make a blonde joke in front of the Chief?" said Gus. Shawn ignored him and continued.

"She is also wearing a shit-ton of make-up tonight…but not because she is a bimbo…because she is trying to hide her true identity. And if you ask her why she has those centerpieces in her purse, well…actually the answer would have nothing to do with why she is here tonight. I'm sensing that she is just a klepto. She is a troubled girl, is she not?"

By this time, the Chief and Gus were fully aware of who he was talking about. But how was Shawn so sure it was her? True, he had seen her slinking away from someplace she wasn't supposed to be, and he knew she was nervous and hiding something, but that wasn't the dead giveaway. You see, while Declan was going on about nutshells and 'the system,' Shawn remembered something. His memory flashed back to those anxiously wringing hands and the familiar piece of silver that adorned her ring finger. Of course! How could he have not recognized it before? He must have really been off his game. He suddenly remembered where he had seen that ring before, with its pattern of intertwining silver threads. He had seen that exact piece of jewelry sitting next to its replica on Alice Bundy's finger and also in a long forgotten photo on the finger of Doreen Harthan. It was Doreen's ring, and it now had a new home on the finger of Taylor Zane. The missing girl that they had been trying to find for days had been under their noses all this time.

"I think you'll find our missing person, Miss Taylor Zane, is right here in this house," Shawn clarified for the benefit of the rest of the room who were most likely not up to speed on his line of reasoning. The Chief's face was mix of surprise, realization, and disbelief at the fact that she hadn't recognized the face that had been all over the news. She knew the girl had something familiar about her from the moment she first saw her, but for some reason she…and everyone else in this room…hadn't made the connection.

"Ok everyone, I guess that about settles it. We are looking for Taylor Zane," she said, "who tonight is in disguise as a member of the wait staff with blonde hair and heavy make-up. She began shouting orders about which teams of officers were to go where and when. She left Shawn and Gus to go wherever they deemed necessary, while she and the rest of her most trust-worthy team followed.

! #Pineapple# !

Shawn's sanity was waning. It seemed the quick rush of adrenaline that had struck him in the attic had all but disappeared when he realized how much little time they had to find this girl, not to mention the fact that he really had no idea where she might be at the moment. His thoughts shifted back to Juliet, downstairs in that room without him. For the past eight months he had imagined being by her side, her constant coach and support, while she labored to delivered their child. But now he had missed a majority of that time and was dangerously close to missing the birth itself. He would never forgive himself if he missed the birth of his daughter. Would Juliet ever forgive him either?

Everyone was waiting for him to make a decision about what to do next, but his mind was as blank his childhood homework assignments usually were until the night before they were due. He put his hands on his head and pulled hard on his hair, which signaled to Gus that it was his turn to step up to the plate.

"Hey guys! We are totally in a movie right now!" Gus exclaimed. "I can't decide if it's _House on Haunted Hill _or _Glass House. _More like some wacky mixture of the two combined with _Girl, Interrupted _and just a tad of _Clue. _I don't know about you guys, but I am totally gonna be Taye Diggs, the Chief can be Diane Lane, and Lassie, you can be Geoffrey Rush…unless you're going with the 1959 version, then you can be Vincent Price. McNab, you can be…"

"Guster!" shouted Lassiter. "What on God's green earth is wrong with you?!" Gus stopped his act, satisfied to see Shawn relaxed a bit. The Chief smiled lightly.

"Alright!" said Shawn gearing himself up. "We start in the kitchen." He didn't have any particular reason to start with the kitchen other than that's where he saw Taylor slinking from less than an hour ago. Even if she wasn't there, there might be a clue there. Everyone took off down the stairs as fast as their feet would take them and crashed into the empty kitchen.

"Now what?" asked McNab.

"Uhhh…she was here earlier. She was up to something. Look for something that would indicate what she was doing," said Shawn agitatedly.

"Sure, that's helpful, Spencer," Lassiter shouted sarcastically. "What exactly should he be looking for?"

"I don't know! A scuff mark…A string of T-N-T…A book called 'The ACME Guide to Psycho Hostage-Taking'…A…." Shawn's frantic yelling stopped in its tracks when he noticed something and completed his sentence. "…a gap in an old retired dumbwaiter that wasn't there before." He clearly remembered the dumbwaiter being fully closed when they were interviewing the staff there earlier. The staff definitely didn't have any use for an old creaky dumbwaiter now that elevators had been installed, and no one had been in the kitchen since they completed their interviews…except for Taylor.

Shawn's feet took him across the kitchen and his hands grabbed the door to the dumbwaiter and pushed it open violently. His action was perfectly timed to catch Taylor in the process of crawling towards the dumbwaiter door from the other side. Apparently the door was no longer the entrance to a dumbwaiter but to a deep tunnel which led to some unseen destination in its distant darkness.

Taylor was caught by surprise and screamed. Shawn grabbed her arm that had been reaching for the now open door and Lassiter stepped in to help him wrestle her out of the tunnel and into the kitchen. When she was out he immediately slapped his cuffs of her wrists and pushed her into a nearby chair.

"Taylor Zane," he said, and she startled at the use of her real name. "Yes, we know who you are," Lassiter added in response to her reaction. "Would you mind telling us what you were doing in that dumbwaiter?"

"I…I…" Taylor obviously hadn't counted on being caught. Her face reddened and her eyes began to tear up. It was definitely not the reaction that any of them were expecting.

"Spit it out!" urged Lassiter. "Tell me where that tunnel leads!"

"A…a…a secret room," she mumbled through tiny sobs.

"Again, what were you doing in there?" Lassiter questioned harshly.

Taylor paused, apparently trying to decide how to lie, but her response indicated that lying on the spot was not her strong suit. "No…no…nothing."

She was clearly scared, weak, either that or a really good actress. Shawn was beginning to question whether she even had the balls to pull off this elaborate stunt. Something just didn't sit right with him. The person on the loudspeaker was witty, good with words, cool and collected, nothing like the girl that was sitting before him. It was Declan that confirmed his suspicions. Declan pulled the Chief aside and everyone but Lassiter who was keeping Taylor in position followed.

Declan whispered. "She knows something. Not only that, she is deeply involved. But she isn't working alone…and she definitely isn't the mastermind in all of this,"

The Chief didn't even acknowledge Declan's words before she trudged over to Taylor. "Who are you working for?" she demanded. Taylor's expression was a dead giveaway that she had been figured out. She definitely wasn't a good actress. Taylor mumbled incoherently before breaking into heavy sobs. She didn't look like she was about to lie, but she also didn't look like she was about to reveal her accomplice. She would slice her vocal cords before she did that.

"It's Alice, isn't it," said Shawn, his eyes probing hers. Everyone except Taylor looked at him as if he was out of his gourd.

"Alice is dead, Spencer. What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks are you talking about?" said Lassiter.

Shawn's focus didn't leave Taylor's eyes. "No she isn't, is she, Taylor?" The horror in Taylor's eyes told him that his guess was correct. Shawn continued, "No…Alice isn't dead. She is very much alive. And all of this…" Shawn put his arms in the air to indicate the whole situation they were in. "…this whole evening. This is Alice's doing. Alice isn't Alice anymore. She is the Queen of Hearts, and you are only her pawn."

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**I really don't even have anything to say. I hope you do.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Spencer, I know you have a lot going on right now, but I have to ask. Have you gone completely BERSERK?!" Lassiter was accustomed to Shawn's wild theories, but this one took the cake and all of the buttercream icing. "How can Alice be dead? There was a body! Woody analyzed the body himself. And Dr. Franklin saw the whole thing."

To be honest, Shawn hadn't thought his theory the whole way through. He didn't have an explanation for every detail, but he knew it was right. "No. No, she didn't see the whole thing…" Shawn corrected. "She saw Alice in the room before the fire started, and she saw what was left of the body after the fire was put out. She didn't see what happened in between. She was relying on Taylor's word…only recounting what Taylor had told her." Shawn wracked his brain, sorted through his memories, for some clue, some way to explain how Alice could possibly have faked her death. She was a smart girl. If anyone could have faked her death so convincingly, it was her. But how?

Chief Vick stared down Taylor with the most intimidation she could muster. "Miss Zane, tell me now! Is Alice dead or alive?" Taylor whimpered. She looked down and squeezed her eyes and mouth shut tight. She wasn't going to say anything. "Do you realize Miss Zane that you are in serious trouble? If Alice is alive and forcing you to do this, you are just going to go back to Maplewood and continue your life as you have been, but if you don't say anything…you don't even want to know what your sentence is going to be."

Taylor opened her eyes and looked into the Chief's and for a few moments her voice was slow and steady. "That doesn't matter. In less than an hour we are all going to be dead anyway." Taylor resumed her position with her head down and eyes closed, the position that said, "I am not going to say a word."

"F—K!" shouted the Chief, while ramming her fist into the wall. She winced when the bones in her knuckles cracked. Everyone in the room stared at her in shock. They'd seen her angry before, but not like this.

Meanwhile, Shawn's brain had been working double-time, and he believed he was coming up with something. "I have to talk to Woody!"

The Chief sighed. She wasn't sure if she should trust Shawn's hair-brained theory or not, but she knew he was often right and would be remiss if she didn't at least let him check it out. "Ok. Woody is in the study helping with the injured."

"For Pete's sake, Chief!" argued Lassiter. "You're not seriously buying this mumbo jumbo."

Shawn cut in. "Lassie, I don't know who Pete is, but she's definitely not doing this for him. And she's definitely not buying mumbo jumbo for all of us even though that sounds delicious! I know this sounds off-the-wall, but I am 200% sure that I am onto something here. Just trust me for once, dammit!"

Lassiter's breathing evened-out and he nodded. He wasn't happy about it but he would give in and let Shawn follow his damned theory. It was better than standing here arguing about it.

"Make it quick!," the Chief demanded. "Meanwhile, I am going to find out what Taylor has been doing inside this dumbwaiter. She was the only one of them small enough to fit through the tunnel. Nobody was really comfortable about her going in there alone, but they didn't have much of a choice.

"Let's go Gus!" said Shawn, half sprinting and half skipping out the kitchen. The adrenaline was back in full force.

$%^Pineapple^%$

They found Woody stitching up an awful-looking gash in a man's arm. The man bit on a towel to keep from yelling out at the pain. They didn't have the luxury of anesthesia tonight. Woody's face was red and dripping in sweat. His expression was serious, pained, so much so that he no longer resembled the eccentric, creepy, but happy-go-lucky coroner that Shawn knew and loved.

"Woodmaster!" Shawn greeted him.

Woody looked up but didn't greet Shawn with, "How is my favorite psychic today?" or "Can I interest you in a slice of Peanut Butter Pecan Delight?" He just looked back down and said sadly, "Hi Shawn, Hi Greg."

"It's Gus," Gus corrected him. Woody only shrugged.

"Woody, are you ok?" Shawn asked, at which Woody looked like he might start to cry. "Did something happen to Ursula?"

Woody nodded but didn't meet Shawn's or Gus's eyes. "Burned…badly." He obviously didn't care to elaborate any more than that, and just concentrated on tying the man's stitches.

"Oh, no! Is she dead?!" Gus asked, earning him a punch on the arm from Shawn for his bluntness.

Woody sighed. "No. But she is in pretty bad shape. I'm afraid if we don't make it out of here soon….she might….she might not make it."

"Woody, I promise you, we are doing everything we can to get us out of here as quickly as possible," said Shawn. "But we need your help to do that."

"Sure. Anything," said Woody. "But how can I help?"

"Woody, I need you to remember the Alice Bundy suicide. You analyzed her remains didn't you?"

"Yes. Yes, I did. She was a beauty! Even if she was only bones. What's Alice Bundy got to do with this?"

"That's…yeah, that's just…good, Woody," said Shawn. Woody's fascination with the dead never failed to creep him out. "Well, my question is…can you be absolutely, without a doubt, sure that those bones belonged to Alice Bundy?" Shawn three-quarters expected Woody to say that her remains had been confirmed by something as solid as DNA evidence, but he was caught by surprise.

"No," said Woody simply.

"No?" said Shawn and Gus together.

"No." Woody continued. "Well, the bones did match Alice's description as far as size of stature, age of the victim, and random other stats, but they were too far burned to be able to extract a DNA sample and the jaw and teeth were too far destroyed for a match to dental records. So, no, I can't according to my Hippocratic Oath say that those bones definitely belonged to Alice Bundy."

This was all very good and interesting, but Shawn was going to need something much more solid to convince the others that his "Alice-faked-her-death" theory was right. Shawn put his hand to his head to aid his thinking process. Woody finished up with his patient while Gus stood by awkwardly waiting for Shawn to finish pacing. "I got it!" Shawn exclaimed suddenly. "By any chance did you find a ring on the body …one with an intertwining pattern." Gus's eyes lit up in excitement when he realized what Shawn was getting at. "…or maybe just some melted metal around her ring finger…or something like that."

"No, Shawn! Not melted!" said Gus. Having read the case file cover-to-cover, Gus knew that the ring that Alice cherished and would never in a million years remove from her finger was made of Tungsten. "Tungsten!" he shouted.

"Gus, we don't have time to hear about your nasty oral disease cream right now," said Shawn.

"No Shawn, the metal. Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals!" Gus was literally jumping up and down in excitement. Shawn and Woody were still staring at him like he was speaking Chinese.

"Clarify, Gus," urged Shawn.

Gus spouted off what he knew in that way that sounded like he was reading from an encyclopedia. "Tungsten has recently become popular for use in jewelry making due to its indestructible nature. It can withstand temperatures up to 3422°C, that's 6192°F, six times the typical temperature of a house fire. Even with an accelerant like gasoline, that ring wouldn't have melted."

"Gus! These moments are exactly why I keep you around. Good work, Buddy!"

"The answer is no," said Woody finally. "There was no ring."

"Sweet!" exclaimed Shawn who fist bumped Gus and Woody.

"But wait…" said Gus. "If that wasn't Alice's body, then who was it?"

Shawn had an answer for this one too. "Jules was processing several case files about a week back…"

"The case files were about a weak back…?" Gus questioned, confused.

"No Gus, a week back, like a week ago."

"Ohhhhh…" said Gus. "Go on."

"Anyway, one of them was about a missing person…a young woman who was about the same age, height, and build as Alice. She disappeared from Santa Maria, less than a mile from Maplewood, on the same afternoon that Alice escaped from the hospital."

"So you're saying that Alice killed the girl that afternoon, snuck the body into her hospital room, somehow kept it hidden for a day, burned the body to pass off as her own, then escaped from the hospital?" Gus said all this in a way that seemed to point out how ludicrous it all seemed.

"She somehow snuck in a can of gasoline without the staff noticing," Shawn pointed out.

"A body is a little harder to hide than gasoline," said Gus.

"True, but Gus, I'm not saying she did this all in one trip. She was probably in and out of the hospital for days working on this plan. And she certainly didn't do it herself. She had her minion to help her."

Gus contemplated his words. Maybe it wasn't so far-fetched. Even Woody seemed to be buying the theory, but then again, Woody believed that vampires were zombies on steroids.

Shawn didn't stop his convincing. "Think about it! The timing all makes sense! One week after Alice 'committed suicide' her bastard of a father is murdered. A few days after that, Taylor's abuser is murdered with a similar MO. Finally, Taylor suddenly disappears and now the entire SBPD is being tortured just like Robert Bundy and Gregory Holden. Alice was angered by her father's release from prison. She took it upon herself to bring him and Mr. Holden to justice, and now she's making the police department pay for failing to do just that."

Gus had to admit now that it was a good theory. "Ok, so what do we do next?"

"We find Alice, and put a stop to this," said Shawn as if their task was as easy as eating a pineapple.

&*(Pineapple(*&

"So you're telling us that the body in Alice's room was not Alice?" McNab asked. Chief Vick, Lassiter, Declan, and Gus stood by, enrapt by Shawn's reveal.

"No, it wasn't," said Shawn. "I'm sensing the body was most likely the poor young woman who went missing from Santa Maria….the poor innocent young woman who had nothing do with any of this except that she just happened to be the nearest available perfect match for Alice's body double. Woody confirms that the true identity of the body was inconclusive, and Alice made sure of that. She made sure to shatter the girl's jaw and teeth and that her body burned hot enough to eliminate any chance for DNA evidence." Everyone's jaws were sagging from their faces. If this was true, they were dealing with a hell of a psycho…not that they couldn't already determine that much from the horrifying events of this evening. "BUT, there was one thing she didn't consider."

"Tungsten!" shouted Gus again.

A majority of the faces crumpled in confusion, except for Lassiter's. "The ring!" said Lassiter. "Alice's ring wasn't on the body!"

"Now wait a minute, detective," started the Chief. "Couldn't she have just removed the ring from her finger before she killed herself?"

"She could have…but she wouldn't have. It was nowhere to be found after her death even though it couldn't have been destroyed in the fire, and it still hasn't been located." Lassiter continued. "She had an unhealthy attachment to that object. She considered that ring an extension of herself…her connection to her sister Doreen, if you will. The ring hadn't left her finger in twenty years. The fact that she would have given Doreen's replica to Taylor was a huge step…"

"…It means she finally trusted someone again. She started a new sisterhood," finished Declan. "With her type of personality, she most likely would have considered such a deep bond to transcend death. She either would have died with that ring on her finger or she would have made sure it stayed with its sister-ring."

This time McNab chimed in. "So if the ring wasn't on the body and it isn't on Taylor's finger…"

"Exactly," said Shawn. "It's still on Alice's finger, and it's currently in this house."

"That's great," said the Chief, "…but where exactly? There's nothing in the dumbwaiter but a small room of electrical wires and other supplies. She's not there. We've combed this whole place up and down twice and found nothing."

"Not the whole place," said Shawn with a twinkle in his eye. "There's one room we forgot to check thoroughly."

*()Pinapple()*

Even from the end of the hallway they could hear Juliet's cries of agony. Shawn immediately wanted to be by her side. His visit would have to be short. He gulped. He was running this dangerously close.

The group stood outside the door of room 214. They found Marlowe sitting in the hallway outside, as pale as can be. Lassiter grabbed her hands and pulled her into a standing position before enveloping her body in his much larger one. "You ok, honey bunch?" he asked gently.

"I…I just couldn't stay in there," she answered and winced when another agonizing moan erupted from the room.

"We'd better let Shawn go in alone," said the Chief. "We'll wait here and let us know if you find anything," she said to Shawn with a reassuring touch on his arm. Shawn took a deep breath and entered.

"Shawn! Thank God, Shawn! I was worried you wouldn't make it in time," said Juliet through a grunt. Shawn went straight to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Jules, how close are you? Please tell me you can hold out a little while longer. We are almost there. We found Taylor…we figured it out…now all we have to do is find Alice and get her to set us free. Then we can call an ambulance and get you to the hospital, and…"

"Taylor…Alice…? What are you talking about Shawn?" asked Juliet, not necessarily interested in hearing the answer at the moment.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Mr. Spencer," said Dr. Lesser. Shawn stared at her dumbfounded while Rachael and Juliet nodded in confirmation. "There isn't enough time. She's almost fully dilated. We are going to have to deliver right here."

Shawn panicked. "Wha…who…when?! Now?"

"Not immediately. I suspect we have about twenty minutes until she has to push."

"Twenty minutes…that's like…just about midnight, right?" Shawn asked.

Rachael looked at her watch and nodded. Shawn got up and immediately began poking and prodding objects in the room; knick-knacks on the shelves, lighting fixtures, artwork…

"Shawn…what the…hell…are you…doing?" Juliet growled angrily between breaths.

"I'm looking for Alice's secret room. I know the entrance is in here somewhe-…" Shawn had just pulled on the grate in the fire place and was rewarded with the gradual opening of a stone panel behind it to reveal an opening about half his height through which everyone could see a wooden staircase. "…-ere," he completed his word. "Yahtzee!" The girl's mouths gaped in disbelief. "Jules, I apologize for the brief interruption of privacy, but I am going to have to let everyone pass through here." Juliet nodded, still completely unsure if she was actually seeing what her eyes were telling her brain she was seeing. Shawn let the group in who politely shielded their eyes from Juliet's direction, crouched down one-at-a-time and entered the fireplace. Shawn began to follow the last one through.

"Wait!" Juliet demanded. "You're going? You are leaving me here?!"

Shawn rushed back to his wife's bedside, squeezed her hand and kissed it. "I am so so so sorry I haven't been here. I haven't stopped thinking about you the whole time. But I am not going to miss the birth of daughter! I'm NOT. I'm just going to be inside the fireplace," he said, certain that he would never hear that sentence exit his mouth again. "I am going to talk Alice down, get her to confess and stop this whole mess so Lassie can arrest her, and then I'll be right back. I'll be ten minutes, tops! Just hold on for ten more minutes, ok?" This time Juliet refused to nod. She wanted Shawn here. She wanted him now. "If I don't do this, none of us will make it out of here alive. It's my job to protect my girls and that's what I'm doing." Juliet still didn't look him in the eye.

"Spencer!" shouted Lassiter's voice from the fireplace. There wasn't any time left for making Juliet happy. Shawn got up and headed towards the fireplace. On the way out he whispered to Rachael to come in and let him know as soon as Juliet was ready. Even if their mission failed, he was going to be with his wife and daughter at midnight.

* * *

**Almost there. Stay tuned for the conclusion in the next chapter.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here it is! The long awaited conclusion. I stayed up waaay past my bedtime to finish. I can't believe it's over, so bittersweet. Anywho, there will still be some one-shots in this series so make sure to follow 'Grandpapa Monkey, and More'**

* * *

Everyone climbed the hidden staircase as quietly as possible, which was difficult because it was old and creaky. The staircase ascended at least two floors, maybe more, and Shawn figured they must have reached some hidden part of the attic or a room above the attic. It was a small room and clearly the epicenter of the evening's disastrous activity. It was filled with buttons, electrical wires, and controls, and in the far corner was a loudspeaker system with microphone. Lassiter, McNab, and the Chief held their guns at the ready.

"If anybody is in this room, you need to show yourself," said Lassiter. There was no answer. This time Lassiter addressed their suspect by name. "Alice Bundy, if you are in this room, I am ordering you to show yourself and put your hands up," he said forcefully. Still no answer.

Shawn scanned the room with his eyes and noticed an ever-so-slight movement between the vertical boards of a door that covered a makeshift closet. "Psst" he whispered quietly to catch Lassiter's attention. When Lassiter looked at him, he nodded towards the closet, and Lassiter nodded in understanding. He motioned for Vick and McNab to surround the closet while he approached. Lassiter held his gun ready in his right hand while he gently grabbed the wooden handle on the door. He held up three fingers to indicate to Vick and McNab to be ready on the count of three. After three nods he pulled the door opened swiftly and found their target hunched in the corner.

She looked exactly the same as she had seven years earlier except with a slightly more mature and an intensely more beaten down and troubled face. Her eyes were glazed, almost as if something was missing behind them. It was spooky even…like a body without a soul. She was dressed in a maintenance uniform with the name "Rosie" embroidered on her left chest.

"I believe we've found Mr. Denial's missing staff member," said Chief Vick as she continued to keep her gun trained on Alice.

"Come out with your hands up!" said Lassiter. At first Alice just sat still as a statue until Lassiter was forced to repeat himself and this time followed it up with a cocking of his gun. That was enough to get Alice to obey. He and his colleagues kept their guns on her to keep her in place. They couldn't arrest her yet. Not until they were sure her big plans for midnight were not already underway.

"Damn," said Alice, "I was about to make another announcement before you showed up. You are messing up my intro."

"Intro to what?" demanded the Chief. "What are you planning?"

Alice smiled sinisterly. "Don't you know? I told you hours ago. You need to PAY ATTENTION!" Everyone jumped as her soft even-toned voice suddenly erupted into a scream. "Besides, I'm not _planning _anything. The _plan _is already complete and in motion." Shawn, having managed to move himself further into the room, while Alice was stepping out of the closet, could see her set-up more clearly and noticed a timer ticking away. It had fifteen minutes remaining. He coughed at the Chief while Lassiter had Alice's attention and tossed his head in the direction of the timer. Chief Vick's eyes grew to the size of saucers when she saw the timer.

"What do you want from us?" the Chief asked Alice.

"Don't you know?" she asked again. "Tut tut tut. I only want you to do your jobs. You and everyone else like you. I want JUSTICE!"

"Look Alice, I know your father hurt you. What he did to you was unforgivable. He _should _be rotting in prison now. If it were up to me, he never would have gotten parole."

"Ha! You still think that is what this is all about?" Alice squealed maniacally. "You all really are incompetent aren't you?" Everyone in the room was caught by surprise. If this wasn't about her father getting out of prison, then they didn't know how to make sense of it. Shawn looked to Gus who looked equally confused and terrified at the same time. It was very similar to that look he had after almost getting shot at Robert Bundy's house…by the very machine that was built by Alice…right after he saw that face in the mirror. That face! Now he knew why it looked familiar. The woman in the mirror wasn't Alice but he could see the resemblance. Gus narrowed his eyes curiously at his friend when he saw the light bulb go off in Shawn's head. Shawn spoke up.

"Alice? Remember me?" he said stepping forward.

"Shawn?" she said, squinting at his face as if trying to remember his features. She remembered him.

"Yeah. That's right," he said softly. "Alice, I am sensing what this is really about. It has something to do with your father alright, but it's not about why he was in prison or why he got out…well, it kindof is…but not entirely. Am I right?" She remembered Shawn's gift and had a feeling he probably knew what he was talking about. She was willing to hear him out and nodded for him to continue.

"You don't _only_ want justice for yourself. You want justice for your mother." At the mention of her mother, Shawn saw just a glimmer of Alice's soul return to eyes and a sadness that was almost childlike. "When your father got out of prison, you planned his death…or more accurately, his _justice. _But not for what he did to you, for what he did to your mother. He served twenty years for abusing you. Still not enough time, but at least it was something. He didn't serve any time for killing your mom though." By this time Alice's eyes were starting to fill with tears. She was speechless.

"No. He got away with that one," Shawn continued while the rest of the group listened to his break down quietly. Lassiter wished he would hurry the F- up, but he didn't say anything in fear of making Alice angry again. Shawn was getting to her….breaking her down slowly. "It was something about not enough evidence…it was only circumstantial…but you knew the truth. The case ended up buried in a filing cabinet full of unsolved cases, never to see the light of day again, and you…"

"They made me stay with him!" Alice yelled and looked at the officers in the room. "You. All of you! You made a 6-year-old girl stay in the house with the man who killed her mother right in front of her eyes, so that he could come into her room every night and…and…" she was like a scared little girl again sobbing for just a short while until she turned livid again. "IT'S NOT RIGHT! He had to PAY!"

"Exactly," said Shawn, "the police failed big time. They let a murderer go free. That's why you stepped in as soon as you got the opportunity…"

"He deserved to DIE and he had to know WHY!"

"Nice rhyme there. Dr. Seuss would be proud," joked Shawn. Lassiter growled angrily at him and he swallowed and continued.

"You tortured him first…made him believe he was being haunted by the woman he killed, just like you did for Doreen at the sorority house. Then just when the time was right, you ended it for him. But it didn't all end there. You see, you made a friend while you were at Maplewood, Little Miss Taylor. She was abused just like you, except in her case, her abuser was never caught. The closest thing Taylor got to justice was a lousy restraining order."

"He was still out there where he could hurt other girls, and he probably was!" Alice sobbed.

"You're right. The police failed again, and again you took matters into your own hands. By this time, you were on a roll, why not make everyone pay? Everyone who failed."

"YES! They all need to suffer the consequences of their actions. The whole world needs to know what happens when police get lazy. Murderers and abusers go free. People get hurt! Innocent people get hurt!"

"Just like all of the innocent people that got hurt tonight?" Shawn asked.

"Wha…No. Yes…I don't know! This isn't FAIR!" Alice stuttered. Shawn knew he had her.

"Alice, you're right, it isn't fair. It wasn't fair for you. It wasn't fair for Taylor. And it wasn't fair for your Mom. The officers on those cases should have been more careful. But…these people you see in front of you…are not them. These are the people that got justice for Doreen and will fight harder for justice than anyone I know. The people downstairs are their friends and family. It was not their fault. What are they paying for? My wife, who you might remember as Detective O'Hara, was the very officer who infiltrated Doreen's sorority to find her killer, and now she's downstairs having our baby girl who hasn't even been alive to be guilty of anything.

Alice was at a loss for words. Tears were pouring down her face. Shawn was reaching her. He was almost there.

"Alice, I promise you that as soon as Gus' plutonium order arrives and that Ebay bid comes through on the Delorian, I am going to travel back to 1994 and personally take on your Dad's case and make sure he goes to prison for life. And if it turns out Gus's flux capacitor really is just a Stretch Armstrong wrapped around three pegs, I will pull that case right out of the dusty old filing cabinet and solve it now in 2014. And I'll do the same for Taylor's case and any other unsolved cases I can squeeze in, because like you said…the world needs to know." When he saw her nodding at him, he knew it was time to ask. "Alice, if I promise to do this for you, will disarm the bomb?

Alice did a double take and glanced toward the direction of the workstation. She obviously wasn't aware he knew about the bomb. She looked back and forth between Shawn and the bomb trying to make a decision.

"Please," said Shawn. "For all of the innocent people downstairs and for all of the officers in this building who do bring criminals justice."

"Promise?" asked Alice after what seemed like an eternity.

"Pinky swear," said Shawn holding out his pinky. Alice finally gave in and completed the pinky swear. She ran to her workstation and flipped several switches and turned some knobs. Then she typed something into a nearby laptop computer and the timer stopped with a little less than five minutes to spare. Everyone sighed in relief and muttered "Thank God's."

"Now Miss Bundy, we are going to have to get justice for all of those people downstairs who were hurt or killed or lost their loved ones," said Lassiter. "You are going to have to come with us." Alice willingly let Lassiter cuff her while he read her rights.

It had only been about 30 seconds when Shawn heard footsteps running up the rickety staircase and Rachael reached the top of the stairs. "Shawn, it's time!" she said.

~#$Pineapple$#~

"Ok, Juliet," said Dr. Lesser. "Next contraction, you're going to have to push."

"No. No. I can't do it," cried Juliet. "I won't do it until Shawn is here. He promised he would be here! He's coming, I know it!"

"Juliet, Rachael went to get him. He'll be here shortly. You have to push or you might hurt the baby."

"I need Shawn!" she yelled.

Just in time, Shawn came scrambling down the stairs and ducked out of the fireplace. Rachael and Gus followed after him. "Jules! I'm here! I'm right here!" he cried, reaching her bed and kissing her all over her face, tasting the perspiration. He squeezed her hands. "Jules, we're safe now. We got her. Now I'm here and we can bring our baby girl into the world safely. I promised I'd save you both and I'd be here, and here I am!"

"Yes you did," she said grinning widely at him.

"Let's have a baby then," said Shawn as the next contraction approached and Juliet prepared herself to push." Meanwhile Lassiter led Alice Bundy and the rest of the group out of the fireplace, across the room, and into the hall. They awkwardly wished the couple luck before ducking out of the room, but Shawn and Juliet were too focused to notice.

Lassiter took Alice downstairs and handed her off to Dobson and McIntyre. He trusted them to take her into custody, while he started back up the stairs to be with his wife and make sure his partner was ok.

"Lassiter!" shouted Henry's voice from behind him. Now that all the doors and windows were unblocked, people were coming in and out, and Henry was one of the first. Surprisingly a number of ambulances, police cars, and emergency response vehicles had already filled up the front lawn. It turned out that one of the valets had gone for help as soon as he realized what happened. It took him quite a while though since he had been locked outside during a cigarette break. He didn't have a cell phone and all of the car keys were locked in a box inside the door. He had to walk three miles into town to call the police. Later, when Shawn found out what the valet did, he sent the man a generous tip along with a whole pack of fruit stripe gum.

"Lassiter?" yelled Henry out of breath. Lassiter turned around and Henry panted, "Where's Shawn?!"

"Room 214," said Lassiter. "That's where I'm headed now."

"He ok?" asked Henry. From the sound of Lassiter's answer he expected his son to be in bad shape. Why else would he still be in one of the rooms?

"He's fine," said Lassiter. "Saved the day again, actually." Henry sighed in relief. "However, your granddaughter is expected to grace us with her presence any moment now."

Henry's eyes widened. "Juliet's in labor?!" he exclaimed.

"She's in delivery," Lassiter answered before Henry brushed past him and sprinted up the curvy staircase. Lassiter jogged after him and soon both were waiting outside of Juliet's makeshift delivery room along with all of Shawn and Juliet's other close friends.

For the next twenty minutes or so they all sat in silence, mouths agape and eyes on the door as they listened to Juliet's cries and screams. Henry, the ever observant one, noticed Marlowe looking nervous and wincing every time a scream of pain could be heard from behind the door. Lassiter rubbed her arm soothingly every time. But it wasn't until she put a hand to her stomach that Henry's suspicions were confirmed. Henry elbowed Lassiter and whispered, "So when's _your_ little one getting here?" He winked.

"Huh?...Wha? How?...What-er-you-talk'n-about?" mumbled Lassiter. They hadn't told anyone yet. What was it with Spencers and always knowing things like that? Despite Henry's attempt to be stealth, his statement caught everyone else's attention and all eyes were on the couple.

"It's ok. You can tell them," said Marlowe.

Lassiter nodded. He tried to give the news as seriously as possible but couldn't hide a proud smile. "Marlowe and I are expecting. We're due in July."

From inside Room 214, Shawn heard the cheers and congratulatory wishes. "Hey Jules," he said. "Lassiter just shared the news."

"That's great," said Jules without feeling. "Let's celebrate when I don't feel like I am being ripped in half." She felt another contraction coming and bared down with as much strength as she could, crushing Shawn's hand letting out a deep growl in the process.

"Ohhh Gaawwd! Shawn, I changed my mind. I can't do this," Juliet sobbed. "I give up."

Shawn chuckled. "Sure Jules," he said sarcastically. "Dr. Lesser, we've decided just to leave her in there for now. Is it too late for birth control?"

"That's not funny, Shawn!" Juliet screamed at him.

"What? Don't get mad at me. It was your idea," Shawn argued, still being sarcastic.

"Shut up! Just shut your mouth and hold my hand!"

"You're doing great, Juliet," Dr. Lesser encouraged. "I can see the head. One or two more big pushes should do it."

"A head! She has a head Jules!" Shawn yelled excitedly.

"Mouth. Shut," she responded then pushed again with all her might.

"Alright! Don't go all pistachios on me!" Shawn whined.

"Good job. One more," said the doctor, and Juliet pushed again.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" she screamed one last time before dropping back onto her pillow in utter exhaustion.

"She's out, Juliet! You did it! You can relax now," Dr. Lesser said. She asked Shawn to cut the cord and he jumped at the task. He had been mentally preparing for this moment for months.

"Oh God, Jules! She's gorgeous!" Shawn choked when he got a glimpse of her tiny wiggly and wrinkled body and the light dusting of soft hair on her head that was somewhere between a blonde and a brown.

Dr. Lesser took the baby aside to clean her off and clear her airways, and the new parents waited in anticipation to hear the sound that they had been wanting to hear since the day they found out they were going to be parents. It seemed like it took forever – without her usual instruments, the doctor had to clear the baby's airways the old-fashioned way which took a little longer – but it finally came; the high-pitched wailing of Maggie trying out her vocal chords for the first time. Outside in the hallway, their friends heard the cries, relaxed, and shared joyous glances.

Dr. Lesser wrapped Maggie in a bed sheet that Marlowe and Francie had borrowed from maid service, and handed the baby to the new mom. Tears spilled from Juliet's eyes when she looked at her daughter's face for the first time. Shawn kneeled next to her, brushing her hair from her face with one hand and cupping baby Maggie's fuzzy head with his other.

"Look what we did, Shawn. We made a baby," Juliet cried. "She's so perfect." Juliet was blown away with how much she loved this tiny little person that she had only laid eyes on a minute ago. Shawn too was in awe. He couldn't hold back his tears. "Hi Maggie, it's mommy," Juliet said to her baby. "It's so great to finally meet you. You look so much like your daddy."

"No Maggs, you look exactly like your mommy," Shawn disagreed. "Damn! Look how tiny those fingers are...and that nose! She's got your nose, thank God!"

"Thank God!" agreed Juliet. "And Shawn, you know you're going to have to start watching your language around her." Shawn blushed sheepishly. "Do you want to hold her?" Juliet asked.

"Me?!" asked Shawn.

"No, that other goofy but handsome psychic detective behind you." Shawn actually looked over his shoulder just to be sure there really wasn't another person behind him. "She's your daughter Shawn. You're going to have to hold her at some point."

"But…but, she looks so fragile. What if I break her?" he said unsurely.

"You're not going to break her," said Juliet, placing the baby gently in Shawn's arms. Shawn stood up and bounced her lightly. She was unexpectedly light-weight and he wondered exactly how much she weighed. They didn't have a scale in the room to get her measurements.

"Hey Maggs," he said softly. "My name is Shawn, but you can call me 'Daddy,' or just 'Dad,' or 'Pa,' or 'Papa.' Just don't call me Al ok? I'm not Billy Joel. Speaking of which, you know I am going to be teaching you all about the joy that is 80's music…and a little bit of early 90s. I bet you are going to be the only girl your age who can recite the lyrics to every _Thompson Twins_ song ever recorded. Yep, we are going to do lots of fun stuff together….Phineas and Ferb marathons, camping, ice fishing, reenacting scenes from _Honey, I Shrunk the Kids_, spelunking (after I figure out what that means), and filling Uncle Gus's desk drawers with shaving cream. Ooo! Just wait until you meet Uncle Gus! You are going to love him…and your Uncle Lassie, and Grandpa Henry and Grandma Maddie, Grandpa Lloyd and Grandma Maryann too, and all of your uncles and cousins…who are all boys by the way…sorry about that."

Shawn stopped speaking for a few moments, just staring at his little girl. He noticed Juliet getting emotional listening to his speech and antsy to hold her baby again. Shawn kneeled back down next to Juliet, noticing how easily and comfortably he was holding his daughter now. "You are so beautiful Little Peanut! You ready to go back to your Mama Pistachio now?"

Juliet giggled. "So are those officially our new nicknames now?"

"They might be," said Shawn. They took a few moments to take in the sight of their child and then shared a tender kiss. "Jules?" he questioned suddenly.

"Yes, Shawn?"

"This is way better than a fleet of pugs."

* * *

**The End.**


	16. Epilogue

**Fun Fact: Did you know a fleet of pugs is called a 'grumble?' I just learned this today.**

* * *

_A little over five years later…._

"Hey Peanut, did you brush your teeth?" said Shawn checking in on Maggie's progress in getting ready for bed. She smiled widely, showing all of her sparkling whites.

"Good job, Maggs. Looks like your all ready to head off to dreamland with all of the purple cows and flying warthogs."

"_Flying_ cowsand_ purple_ Warthogs!" she corrected him.

"Of course, what is wrong with me?" said Shawn sarcastically. "Hey, how was your play date with Little Carlton and Baby Clint?"

"It was fun," she answered, "…except, Little Carlton kept trying to play 'Cops and Robbers' with my baby dolls."

"Is there something wrong with that?" Shawn asked innocently.

"YES!" she said as if the problem was totally obvious. "Lucy doll is a _detective_, and Agnes is a _psychic. _He should have been playing 'Detectives and Psychics,' NOT 'Cops and Robbers.'"

"I see…" said Shawn as Maggie climbed onto her bed. "I'll have to talk to Uncle Lassie about that…"

"Daddy, will you tell me a bedtime story?" asked Maggie while bouncing on her bed in her pink penguin PJs.

"If you stop jumping on the bed, I just might," said Shawn. Maggie immediately plopped herself into a sitting position on the bed and Cagney the Pug jumped up and curled up next to her. "Good girl," said Shawn lifting the bed covers over her to tuck her in and then sitting next to her and propping one of her Pillow Pets behind his back.

"Daddy! You're squashing Rodney!"

"Huh?" said Shawn, and then imitated a high-pitched, muffled voice saying, "Geroff Me!" Shawn pulled Rodney the Panda Pillow Pet out from behind his back. "Sorry 'bout that Rodster. Didn't see you there." Maggie giggled and Shawn propped himself up on a regular pillow instead. "What story do you want to hear tonight?" asked Shawn while Cagney repositioned himself on Shawn's lap and the second Pug Lacey jumped up on the bed and cuddled up against his feet.

"Hmmm…Lacey wants to hear a story about how babies are born," she said.

"Oh, Geez…" said Shawn nervously. "I think you should tell Lacey that that is a very long story and best saved for another time." Shawn heard a chuckle from the doorway and realized Juliet was watching them. He saw her leaning on the door jamb, her hand massaging her stomach.

"Daddy, please!" Maggie begged.

"Not right now, Peanut," said Shawn to her pouting face. "How about another Fantastic Hair-man and Chocolate Jackal story? Shawn had invented the story book versions of himself and Gus long ago. She usually loved those stories the most but this time she gave in begrudgingly. Shawn had only gotten as far as "Once upon a time there was a super hero with great hair and who looked good in jeans…" when she interrupted him.

"Daddy, when is Baby James going to get here?"

"Mommy and I told you. He's coming in August," said Shawn.

"But, how long is that?" she asked.

"Four months," he answered thinking that would answer her question.

"How long is four months?" she asked again.

"Hmmm…think of it as the amount of time between your birthday and Pineapple Appreciation Day," Shawn explained the best way he could.

"That's a long time!" she exclaimed.

"It seems like it now, but it will fly by like a pigeon to a bread crumb. You'll see." Shawn was about to continue the story when she spoke again.

"I can't wait, though. I want to meet my baby brother now," she whined.

"Me too, Peanut…but he'll come when he's ready. We just have to be patient." A light bulb went off in his head and he decided Fantastic Hair-man and Chocolate Jackal could wait a night. "Hey I've got an idea. Did I ever tell you the story of how _you_ were born?"

"No, Daddy. I want to hear that one!"

"Ok, this is a really good one!" Shawn cleared his throat and started in a slightly deeper voice, "Once upon a time, on a crisp and clear New Year's Eve, Daddy and Mama Pistachio went to a Policeman's Ball…."


End file.
